Pokemon Wasteland
by ChrisOlejko
Summary: Pokemon and Fallout crossover. Zane, an inhabitant of a vault locked away for 300 years, emerges into a new world, a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland. Survival is the one true law of the new age as those who can tame the wild mutations reign supreme.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER

Hi, first piece of fan fiction I've ever written. I've read plenty and I think a common problem is people burn through ideas too quickly so I've purposely tried to manage a slow build when writing this story. If you're the patient type you'll enjoy it, if you're not, well then I feel your pain because neither am I. Please review/criticise, it's the only way to learn in life. I make an effort to write long chapters (longer than most I've seen anyway) not counting this prologue, aaaand that's about it, enjoy.

**PROLOGUE**

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. The clock echoed around the packed room as the hands moved closer and closer to 10:47am, August 24th, 2488. A nervous chill had settled over the crowd for the last few minutes, a complete contradiction to the hustle and bustle of the weeks leading up to this day. Deep inside this underground vault, the inhabitants had gone about their daily chores with unbridled enthusiasm and gusto that hadn't been seen in living memory as this date drew closer and closer. All the vault dwellers had packed into the cafeteria, some arriving hours before just to sit and watch the clock, to live the dreams of their ancestors, to walk above ground again.

Inside the cafeteria there were the young and the old, the tall and the short, the brave and the cowardly. Friends and enemies alike held their breath, imagining the new world that would await them. Little did they know that one amongst them would be the most important player in the new era, the one that would ultimately decide the new order of life, and the new direction of civilisation. Like the other 131 vault dwellers, he had no way of knowing what world would be thrust upon him, this is his story.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

"Pssst, Zane...Zaaaaane". It took a few seconds for his brain to register the familiar noise coming from his right. "Whaaaaat" Zane whispered back between bodies, he couldn't see his friend Violet due to the sheer mass of bodies pressed into the one room. "Good luck!"

Zane smiled, "good luck for what?"

"I don't know...just good luck!"

Zane chuckled to himself, that pretty much sums up the last few weeks, no, the last few months. His mind wandered back, this day seemed like the heaven described in his history books. His whole life he had been told how lucky he was, to be a child of the new era, the first generation to leave the vault. It was this golden horizon that drove people through the dreary vault existence; even the older citizens had been living longer in recent years, the thought of seeing the sky with their own eyes fighting off the diseases that the doctors struggled with around the clock. "Attention everyone, can I please have your attention!" Zane snapped back to the present, the Governor had gotten up on a table near the front, his portly frame blocking out the clock that the whole room was fixated on. "We have about 90 seconds before...well, before the opening, so I'm going to run through the vault procedure again for the benefit of those with memory problems". He flashed a toothy grin at a contingent of the elderly before continuing, "When we hit time, our security team will press forward through the antechamber and open the vault to the outside world. They'll check the surrounding area for danger, and if there is absolutely NO sign of any...abnormalities, of any kind, then security escorted groups of 5 dwellers will be lead to the outside, 10 minute time limit only, no more, and then back in where you'll go back about your daily business until the council decides the vault's next move, understood?" There was a quiet murmur of agreement as people craned their necks to get a glimpse of the second hand, now into its final rotation. "Good luck Vi" Zane whispered into the direction he thought she was, this was it. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, 10 more seconds now Zane thought, time seemed to slow down, the whole room seemed to blur as this plain, white, wall clock burned into focus. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Everyone's attention in the room shifted to the large, metallic door that sealed the antechamber leading to the vault exit. The small computer screen still shone red with 'LOCKED' written across it, nothing had happened.

A dull murmur ran across the room, the Governor dabbed at his brow, eyes franticly racing from the clock to the door. Zane bowed his head, he couldn't let Violet see him cry, it wasn't just his hopes and dreams, the promise of existence outside of the vault was something every man, woman, and child thought about to get them through the day, and to put themselves to sleep at night. As his eyes began to sting he tried to suppress his emotions but he couldn't stop them washing over him. His cheeks began swelling up, they felt like they were going to explode, this reality was impossible to ignore. He was going to spend the rest of his life in the same grey corridors, interacting with the same bored, drained people, working the same menial job, eating the same grey nutrition cubes, drinking the same recycled water, and obeying orders from the same governing family, every single eventless day. It burned on the inside realising, knowing, that he could write out his whole future now and it wouldn't deviate a single bit. It'd be impossible to change, he was going to spend the next few decades in grey isolation until the diseases set in, or he went mad waiting. Whatever was up there on the surface would have been his utopia.

"You're a liar! Why hasn't the door opened?"

Zane jerked awake, how much time had passed? It was now 10.49...the room felt hotter, the silence had been broken and the dweller's tones were changing from confusion to anger. "Now now, let's all try and remain calm, I'm going to call an emergency committee meeting to discuss today's events and we'll proceed-"

"Enough of your political bull! We listen to your safety procedures, your useless committee findings, and we take orders from you, every single day, because we will have a better life if we can get through this, and then we find out you were scamming us?" Zane wasn't surprised to see Kyal leading the angry mob; he always was a hot head... "Absolutely preposterous, my family has always ruled on the merits of honesty, respect, and excellence, I was just as interested to see-"

"Piss off you were, we all know how much you like controlling every tiny detail, if this wasn't a scam from the start then you must've sabotaged it recently!"

Zane smiled, this is getting out of control, there was more room around him now as people kept shuffling to the front, he slipped in between an elderly couple fumbling with a hearing aid and bumped into Violet. "What now?" Violet panted. Her face was slightly pinker than usual; she was definitely out of breath. "I don't know, let's just wait and see where this confrontation goes; if it gets ugly I don't want to be seen on either side".

"I meant about the surface!" Violet pouted, "Could there be an error in the clock? It has been 300 years".

"No, that's impossible. These vaults were built to perfection, the government scientists had decades of preparation before the evacuations began and they started filling up. I remember reading that most of the appliances down here would be able to run in isolation for over 1000 years."

"Well then what could it be? Is Kyal actually right for once? Maybe our history is just fabricated by the governing family, how would we know any different?" Zane stared into Violet's agonised face; he would be lying if he said those things hadn't occurred to him as well. "Maybe...maybe the vault opening was overridden from some sort of central control unit on the surface, you know, in case the radiation was worse than expected or something like that". Zane returned his focus to the argument at the front of the room, shooting nervous glances at Violet out of the corner of his eye to see if she'd bought the explanation. "You will fall into line, all of you, I'm the governor and it's the LAW that you obey me, now back away, now!" In the meantime the crowd at the front had shifted into 2 main contingents, the governor with his extended family, committee, security guards, and some older citizens, and a younger group with Kyal and his gang at the front. "No, we aren't going to take this from you anymore old man; it's time for a change!"

"Fine, have it your way then, security, round up all of them and take them to detention block C". A dozen guards encircled the group, batons raised, "we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, your choice Kyal". The governor had regained some composure now as the balance of power in the room had been restored with this display of force. Kyal looked feverishly around for support, "don't just stand there! This is our chance, if you want to see a change around here then help us now!" The room stilled, the anger had passed it seemed. Kyal narrowed his eyes bitterly; he motioned for his group to surrender. Kyal's gang was led out by the security team, relatively quietly Zane thought, although just as it crossed his mind Kyal bumped past him and shot him a filthy glare. Yeah, like I'm going to help you out after all those years of bullying in school, Zane snorted.

While he didn't look it now, before the growth spurt he'd been the quiet, frail, loner. Being an orphan meant he was the perfect prey for bullies, no day care supervisor was going to go out of their way to find out where the bruises were coming from. To get away from school Zane had volunteered for mechanic work and immediately taken a liking to it. Over time he'd developed his body through day labour, while flicking through history files in his spare time to learn about life above ground in the past. Zane cringed again; he had really structured his entire childhood for this day... "Attention! Please everyone go back to your daily duties, the committee will convene to decide a course of action and we will inform you all in due time. I'm sorry for the disappointment but I'm just as puzzled as you are, thank you...oh and school is cancelled today as Mr. Rubery will be a special consultant for our meeting, thank you". And that was that, Zane thought, life in the vault goes on.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Zane sat on his bed, his face in his hands, what was the point of living when he already knew every single thing he could possibly experience? Once he finished his last year of education, not that he attended that often anyway, he'd settle into the job he was already doing. Maybe he'd marry Violet, maybe he'd marry one of the other dozen or so women around his age; maybe he'd have the vault regulation 1 or 2 children. That was it, his life until death. "Hello, Zane?" There was a knock at the door, Zane pushed his messy dark blonde hair out of his face and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Come in", Violet poked her head through the gap, "hey how's it going?"

"Yeah alright, you?"

"Yeah I'm ok, I still can't believe it, and if there was ever a time I'd want to leave it's now that people have started taking sides". Violet looked worryingly at the door as she sat down at Zane's desk.

"What do you mean" Zane frowned.

"Haven't you been out since the cafeteria? People are arguing all over the vault".

Zane sat up a little straighter, "Really? About what?"

"Well, some people were saying that they regretted not siding with Kyal in the cafeteria, and then other people were saying that if you don't support the Governor then you should be locked up. Oh and then there's the people saying they're both wrong and the people saying they're both right, and of course the elderly, I think they're just arguing for the sake of conversation..."

Zane lay back down, of course this was to be expected, they never really got a chance to blow off steam in such a highly regulated environment, it'll pass. "Any word yet from the committee?"

"Nah nothing, door to the room's been locked tight, we're not even getting progress memos, the one time we actually care about what's going on in there!" Zane and Violet both shared a laugh. She seems fine Zane thought, coping better than me anyway... "How are your other friends Vi?"

"Oh you know them, they're doing their nails or their hair or something, I don't think they could've cared less about the vault not opening." Zane smiled, he'd thought during their childhood that maybe one day Violet would change to how the other girls were, but then they were 14, then 15, then 16, and now 17 and it never happened.

There was an awkward pause as Violet looked away from the door and caught Zane staring at her, pretended to be in the motion of cracking his neck. "Yeah smooth move Zane, what are you thinking about? I know you, I know that stare!" Zane laughed, "It's nothing, I guess, I can't believe it either, the rest of my life down here, it's just so, so, so obvious, I guess I thought we were destined for better things". Zane paused, gauging for a reaction, was everyone taking it as hard as him? Violet didn't give anything away, she just smiled.

"Attention! Attention! This is the first formal address of the findings of Committee Meeting 8242488A. Regarding the non-event of today's vault opening, the committee finds that there is no action we can take considering our current resources. Today was the correct date, so we must assume there is a fault in the door which we have no control of and no way of displacing. Thank you for your time, all vault inhabitants will be expected to perform their regular duties tomorrow". Zane stared at the intercom, there had to be more, that was there conclusion after 7 hours deliberation?

"Zane...can I ask you something? Zane looked over at Violet, she looked down in embarrassment. "What is it?" Zane laughed, it wasn't every day he got to see the Violet blush. "Ok, and don't laugh at me, but I was thinking, we've been best friends for about 6 years now, and you know, since it looks like we will spend the rest of our lives down here, did you want to get...married? But not right now!" Zane nearly fell off his bed in shock, "no wait let me finish! Like only if you wanted to do that sort of thing and if you were looking for someone you know, I'm just saying I wouldn't mind if you chose me." Zane laughed, "Excuse me, 'wouldn't mind'?"

"Hey! You're making this really hard for me as it is! Fine, 'I'm just saying I would really like it if you chose me', happy now?"

"Very happy", Zane smiled. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "When it's time to get married...there's no one else I'd rather have then you".

"Oh yeah that's real romantic, what are your other options? Smelly Amy and the girl who can't spell 'desk'! I feel sooo honoured." They both laughed and made joke pairings for each other until curfew when Violet had to return to the female living quarters block. "Come to school tomorrow, I miss you there".

"Will do, sweet dreams Vi". Zane watched the last wisps of her long black hair go out the door and lay back down staring at the ceiling. Maybe today hadn't been the most disappointing day of his life after all.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Zane was slowly gliding beneath the shade of the large overhanging trees. It was so peaceful, so calm. He sat down at the base of the largest one and closed his eyes for a few seconds. The wind blew through the branches and the leaves, some birds chattered off in the distance, the sun emerged out of the clouds above. Its warm glow touched Zane's cheek, he smiled and shivered in its embrace, it surrounded his body, he felt its heat now beneath his skin. Suddenly a putrid smell hung in the air, Zane began to choke, where was this coming from? He looked around the forest in despair but it was now clouded in black smoke, his body kept getting warmer in the sun light, too warm. Zane began to burn, he started running but he just got hotter and hotter. His eyes began to droop even as he sprinted through the smog; he stumbled over a tree root and fell flat on his face. He tried getting up but his body was too heavy, it took every ounce of energy just to shift his head on its side. Out of the gloom a figure walked slowly towards him, but Zane couldn't keep his eyes open, he was slipping away. As his eyes closed he noticed his arm was on fire, "well isn't that strange" he mumbled into the ground.

"ZAAAAANE"!

Zane blinked, the figure was in clear view now...except it wasn't human, its skin was yellow with what looked like patches of brown armour, and it was clearly some sort of dwarf. Its face was misshapen, yet there was definitely a long, bushy moustache, what on Earth was it? He could feel the flames extending over his back now, but why was he still so sleepy? His eye closed again as the yellow creature blurred out of view.

"ZAAAAANE"! His body was shaking now, he managed to open his eyes again, a woman was calling him, her voice seemed to echo around the clearing, it didn't seem to be coming from the creature. It was frowning now, it had taken out two spoons, focusing them in his direction, they began glowing pink.

"ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE"! Zane blinked, he was back in his bed, back in the vault. He sat up and immediately knocked heads with someone. "Owww, watch it!" Violet was sitting back at his feet rubbing her forehead, "how deep do you sleep? I've been trying to wake you up for ages". Zane tried untangling himself from the covers; they were soaked through with sweat. He felt his own forehead, he was burning up terribly. "Why...why are you here?" Zane struggled to create thought; his head was on fire, and what was with that dream? "Are you kidding me? I can't believe you didn't wake up, there's a riot!"

"A what?"

"A riot! Kyal and his mob broke out of the cell and started setting fire to things, then they started brawling with the security, it was horrible".

"Is everyone okay?"

Violet burst into tears, "you don't get it Zane, people are dying!" Zane jumped out of bed and scrambled for his boots, "Are you serious? What on Earth for? How?"

"The fire's consumed most of the South East block, they were burnt alive".

Zane paused, "was there any fire here?" Violet wiped some tears away, "of course not, are you dead?"

"I suppose not" Zane muttered, "come on". Zane grabbed Violet's hand and rushed out of the room. While the fire hadn't made it here yet the corridors were still a mess of debris. Zane looked at Violet, "they're fighting everywhere" she whispered, "what should we do?" Zane looked around franticly, someone had clearly got into the electrical systems and done some real damage, doors were malfunctioning, lights flickered on and off, ventilation gave off hot and cold air in different places, and to top it all off there wasn't a soul in sight. "Where's everyone now?"

"Last I checked most of the fighting was happening in the auditorium, aside from that I think the committee have locked themselves in a room somewhere".

Violet and Zane rounded another corner, entering the upper deck of the auditorium, a large empty rectangular room used as a connecting hall for all the other blocks, although this time it wasn't so empty. Bodies littered the floor, usually the same cold grey colour of the walls and ceiling, but today red. Zane tried counting the dead but it was impossible to be sure, they were still being trampled on by the remaining fighters. The guards beat at the rebels with their thick batons; the rebels ducked and weaved, flailing wildly in between backwards steps with their knives. "Come on" Zane muttered, they ran across the hanging walkway, over the mess, and through Gateway One, corridors leading to the council room, the Governors block, and the cafeteria.

Violet bent over double while Zane stood guard, smoke was filling the air in the corridors. Most doors were locked or broken, Zane had no idea how long they'd been stumbling around for. "Well, isn't this a lovely surprise", Zane and Violet both jumped, Kyal's large figure emerged out of the smoke, the left side of his face covered in blood streaming from a wound on the top of his head. "What do you want Kyal"?, Zane moved in front of Violet, he had half a mind just to tell her to run now, Kyal was violently unpredictable. "What do I want? WHAT DO I WANT!" Kyal chuckled, "I want what you want, I want out". Kyal took another step closer, "buuut we can't get out can we Zane? You heard what they said, it's out of our control, oh how unfortunate, I guess it's back to work for all of us lesser folk, and back to the upper decks for the Governor". Zane shuffled back, "call me crazy, but I don't think murdering everyone who isn't in your cute little gang is the answer". Kyal grinned, "come on Zane, you don't need to listen to your head for this one, I know you've always wanted to do this".

Zane sighed, it was so tempting, to just throw his conscience away... "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life following every single instruction from that fat, lying, prick? Or do you want to take your life into your own hands and we'll rule this place for ourselves?" Zane smiled, "You're quite the smooth talker, you must've been hit harder than I thought". Kyal struggled to suppress his rage, "well, are you in or out funny man?"

Zane sized him up, Kyal was much bigger than him and was undoubtedly hiding a knife, but what other option was there? At least I have that technique Zane thought.

"Well?"

"If you'd asked me yesterday then you might have gotten a yes...but now I have something-" Kyal suddenly lunged forward, "GOOOO!" Zane pushed Violet away as Kyal tackled him to the ground. Zane gasped in pain, this wasn't good, this pain in his side, this was not good at all.

Kyal moved his face to within an inch of Zane's and slowly twisted the knife already handle deep, he tried to worm away but the pain was too intense, Kyal pinned forearm to Zane's neck and twisted again. Zane tried to scream but could only cough up blood, Kyal twisted again. This time he got his wish as Zane cried out in agony, splattering Kyal's face with his blood too. He grinned and licked his lips, "I have to tell you Zane, it feels good having this power, its one thing to push people around, but this, I decide your fate". Whatever that knife is sticking into, I'm going to die if I don't do something quickly, Zane thought furiously. Kyal pulled the knife out of Zane's side as roughly as possible, and slowly moved it up towards his pinned neck. Well, Zane thought, this is my last chance, a combat trick from the history files. Zane popped his hips, momentarily bumping Kyal upwards, and took hold of both his wrists. "Let me go!" Kyal struggled but Zane held on for dear life, one slip and that knife was coming straight down on his chest. He could feel his energy draining away fast, he was still bleeding all over the floor. Slowly, and as carefully as he could with Kyal trying to thrash his arms out of his grip, Zane pinned them to his stomach and then quickly wrapped his legs around Kyal's head. "You gay boy, what are you trying to do? Just you wait till I get out of this!" Zane took a deep breath, 3, 2, 1, now! Zane pushed Kyal's arm under his left leg and squeezed it against this body, then pulled the same leg across the back of Kyal's head so it rested under the knee of his right leg. He yanked Kyal's knife hand across his body, out of reach from his head, and then clamped both hands on the back of Kyal's head and pulled down with everything he had left.

"What are you...so...gay...so...". Kyal began to fade, his bottom half scrambled for footing but it was no use, he was completely locked in. Zane felt himself losing consciousness, his hold was weakening, he just needed to hang on for a few more seconds. Kyal's eyes snapped open, his face was losing all colour yet he still managed to shoot Zane a wild glare between the mess of arms and legs. His eyes slid from Zane's face to the knife he was still holding onto, he rotated it in his palm and grabbed it with his thumb and index finger. Zane threw his head back in one last effort to knock him out before he was knocked out himself. Kyal's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he finally fainted, the knife clattering to the ground. Zane slowly released the hold and rolled away carefully. He tried getting up but immediately lost his footing and fell back down, there was still blood flowing from his side. Zane pushed himself up against the wall and managed to get upright, clutching at his knife wound. "I guess you won't be needing this anymore", Zane took Kyal's shirt off his lifeless body and wrapped it around his mid section.

"Violet?" Zane looked around the corridor, "you can come out now". He was met with silence. Zane grimaced and began hobbling in the direction he'd pushed her, the smoke thickening around him slowly as the now unventilated vault began to fill up.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Attention, Attention, this is Committee President Walter McIntosh, the PA system is back online, and the fire in the South East block has been contained. Could all survivors please make their way to the cafeteria for an emergency vault meeting, once again the Governor has everything under control. The rebels have been overwhelmed by our very talented security team, thank you."

Zane pushed himself off the floor and looked around. He hadn't been asleep, yet at the same time he had no idea how long he'd been lying under a desk. His eyes travelled to the opening in the broken doorway he'd squeezed through to escape the smoke, and any of Kyal's followers. His gaze followed the smeared trail of blood at the doorway until it finished underneath him, and then the weight of the situation hit him with full force.

"Violet"! Zane staggered to his feet and poked his head out the door, the smoke still lingered yet it was definitely clearer than before, she was nowhere in sight. Zane took off his makeshift bandage to inspect his wound; it had finally clotted, if it gets put under any more pressure though...Zane winced. Kyal! Zane ducked his head back in, what was he thinking dangling his head out in the open like that? The same trick wouldn't work twice, he needed a weapon. Nothing in the room jumped out at him, desk was too heavy, lamp was too light, cushion was too soft, Zane pushed the couch over in frustration. Anything would do, a pool cue, a baseball bat; I'll even take an umbrella Zane thought furiously. Wait...the desk! Zane slid over the top of the desk and ripped out the drawers, top draw nothing, middle draw nothing, bottom draw...jackpot. It really wasn't his style, but if worst came to worst, Zane tucked the enormous hunting knife into his boot, Lord knows what it was doing in there in the first place Zane thought, still, not complaining...The cafeteria!

Zane stumbled out of the room, he needed to reach this meeting before he was picked off by one of Kyal's people, or a guard mistaking him for one, after all he was just another spoilt new era teenager. He jogged down the corridor as fast as his side would allow, but wait, he was forgetting something...the vault hadn't opened! Zane collapsed down on all fours, he'd waited his whole life for this, now he had nothing to live for; the same mundane existence was barely preferable to death...but what about Violet?!

Zane jumped up again, he did have something to live for, he had to find Violet, she'd disappeared after Kyal jumped him...Kyal! Zane flattened himself against the wall, why was he running around out in the open, he didn't know who else was walking around here with him...The cafeteria! I'll be safe there Zane thought, I just need to press on, I don't want to miss the vault opening, I've waited my whole life for this...or did that already happen? Zane slowed down, something was wrong with his head, he couldn't stop going in circles, it was going faster now, Cafeteria-Vault-Violet-Kyal, he couldn't tear his mind away from this cycle of thought. Cafeteria-Vault-Violet-Kyal-Cafeteria-Vault-Violet-Kyal-Cafeteria-Vault-Violet Zane grabbed his head with both hands, it was getting hot, really hot. He stumbled forward, eyes jammed close. Cafeteria-Vault-Violet-Kyal, SLAM! Zane ran right into a wall and fell onto his back, hands still clamped over his head. The pain from the top of his head subsided, as blood trickled down from between his eyes. What was happening? "I'm losing my mind..."

"Attention everyone, the meeting commences in the Cafeteria in 5 minutes, if any rebels who have evaded capture wish to attend, they will receive a prohibitive pardon from the Governor, it is urgent we immediately commence the rebuilding of our society, thank you".

"Aaand now I've lost it completely, the Governor is issuing pardons".

Zane brushed himself off and, once again, headed down the corridor leading to the cafeteria. He pushed all of the thoughts out of his head, don't think about where you're going, don't think about who for, don't think about who's chasing you, and don't think about whatever the hell just happened. "It's just the smoke messing with my head, oxygen deprivation, that's it, mystery solved, finished, done, completed, concluded, resolved, terminated, exterminated daleks doctor nurse patient polite right nightquitetightfightlightwhi tebrightmightkite" Zane slammed himself sideways against the wall to stop the rekindled burning sensation. After a few seconds he closed his eyes, and continued wandering towards his destination.

Right, left, down a flight of stairs, left, up a flight of stairs, right, right, right, up a flight of stairs, left, up a flight of stairs, right, up a flight of stairs, and straight. Zane kept his eyes down, focusing on his path, nothing else. 10 metres, 5 metres, 1 metre, and now right, Zane followed the floor around the corner and finally looked up. It was a little underwhelming but at least he was at the right place, a small, slender screen was lit up over wide double doors reading 'cafeteria'. Zane breathed a sigh of relief and made his way inside, only to find himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. "Over by the wall, with the rest of them, go".

"I'm not one of them, you're making a mista-"

"Everyone is one of them now, so move!"

Zane was spun round and lead over to the far wall with the rifle pressed against his neck. He glanced to his left as he was pushed into his place and noticed Susie standing next to him, one of Kyal's mob. Her usual arrogant demeanour had deserted her, she was shivering, her eyes unfocused.

"All right, that'll be the last one for this group; can I have your attention everyone?"

Walter McIntosh leaned on his cane in the middle of the room; behind him were a few members of the committee and a large contingent of the security team.

"This vault has a very long and clean history, we've existed peacefully as a society for hundreds of-"

"Shut it Grandpa! You didn't drag us in here at gun point for a history lecture!"

McIntosh cleared his throat and glanced at the chief of security, Donovan. "May the Lord understand and forgive". Donovan let go of his rosary beads, picked up his rifle, and fired. Zane was in total shock, he couldn't believe his eyes, he craned his neck and saw Andrew, one of Kyal's biggest enforcers, crumple on the ground, blood bubbling out of the hole on his forehead. There was complete silence in the room.

"Ahem, please don't interrupt me. Now where was I? Ah yes, we've existed peacefully as a society for hundreds of years, which is an extraordinary feat, yet one we should all expect to fulfil as our life's duty. However yesterday we were struck by disaster, maybe it was our fault for over-stating your importance, but the new generation revolted and murdered the majority of our vault's population".

"That isn't true, please listen to me! We were all just sitting in the cell when the guards started rolling on the floor and screaming, we didn't kill them! You attacked us first!"

McIntosh sighed and looked across at Donovan, "May the Lord understand and forgive". Zane quickly looked away, another body hit the floor.

"Dear me, you are a lively bunch of youngsters, now please don't interrupt any more. Ahem, what started as a case of misguided youth has turned into the greatest crisis in the history of our vault, and as you may have already guessed by his absence here, the Governor was also murdered along with other members of the committee. They were found dead in their sleeping quarters when security went to notify them of the breakout. Now, I'm not an exceptional detective, but it would appear to me that a large group was working from the outside to assassinate members of the committee to take the vault for the, err, more youthful vault dwellers. It is clear to me now that for the good of the vault's future, I must remove the cancer in its entirety, we simply don't have the resources to find each individual guilty or innocent nor do we have the means to understand how such widespread murders took place simultaneously. So it is with great sorrow that I now order your execution, if you have any last requests please announce them now and they may be granted."

The cafeteria was deadly silent; Zane couldn't register what he had just heard. All the words made sense...just not in that order, was this a joke? Or a dream? Or a hallucination?

"No one?" McIntosh smiled calmly over the group of prisoners.

"Why? No, how? How can you think this is the right thing to do?" Zane recognized the voice of one of Violet's closer friends, there was no way she was clever enough to be part of any sort of conspiracy Zane thought, this is ridiculous.

"My dear, I know it is hard for you to comprehend, as you're only seconds away from death, but you need to look at the situation objectively. We need to wipe the slate clean and start afresh by cleansing the rotten morals of your generation; I know if you were currently in your right state of mind you'd see this is the only answer too." He gave her a warm endearing smile, "anyone else?"

"What happened to Kyal?"

Zane shiftily looked down at his feet, what if they'd just picked Kyal off the ground after he'd choked him out? That's the same as me killing him directly...

"Last I heard he was fighting in the auditorium again, I think the weight of all those people he murdered has scrambled his brain-"

"NO!" Zane jerked his head up, Susie had snapped out of her zombie state and stared angrily across at McIntosh. "We have nothing to do with this and neither does he, those guards started writhing and twisting on the ground like men possessed, and so did Kyal...it's just that once it stopped they were dead and he was...different. How do you think we even got out? Kyal kept running and slamming against the hinge until it broke open, it was like he couldn't feel anything!"

"That, is, enough. I'm happy to answer questions or grant final requests, not listen to fairy tales, Kyal is a bad egg, you are all bad eggs, you will be cleansed, end of story."

Susie, and the room, fell silent again. "Well, if that is all then Donovan here will-"

"I have a question". Zane sighed; he never thought his life would end with such mundane curiosities, "why, if you're executing us without a trial, or any sensible form of judicial process for that matter, have you taken the time to explain the situation to us?"

McIntosh chuckled gently, "why my boy? Because it's the only decent thing to do". Zane burst out laughing; he couldn't tell if he was forcing it out to settle himself, but he knew he'd rather go out like this than head down in despair. McIntosh's eye twitched in annoyance, "Donovan, take it away".

"May the Lord understand and forgive"

"He will never forgive this murder you scum!" Violet's friend screamed hysterically.

Donovan's mouth twitched into a smile, "May the Lord understand and forgive...you".

BANG! Zane felt the smile run away from his face, this was really happening, one by one the people he'd grown up with fell to the floor, four more to him, three more, two more, Susie jumped away from the wall and made a dash for the door. Why didn't I think of that, Zane thought. A guard stepped out and tripped Susie over, he rolled her onto her back and Donovan stepped over her, pointing the rifle straight down the middle of her face. Oh, that's why, Zane winced and turned away as blood splattered around the room. Donovan slowly spun on the spot and pointed the rifle at Zane, "lucky last".

After the extreme emotional highs and lows of the past 24 hours, even just the last 5 minutes, Zane couldn't contain a wry smile. For all his complaining about the predictability of vault existence, he couldn't argue that this was an exciting way to die. "So be it", Zane closed his eyes and braced himself. BANG!

Zane froze, was he dead? He didn't feel any pain, and he could think...this couldn't be death. "Whoa there cowboy, drop the rifle, or the Governor gets it!" Zane carefully opened one eye; Donovan's rifle was the only thing in the room still looking at him. Standing in the entrance, doors slammed nearly off their hinges, was Kyal. And there in front of him was the very much alive Governor, handcuffed, gagged, and at knife point.


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"I never realised what an abundance of knives there are around here, my thanks to whoever left them all lying round". Kyal smirked from behind the Governor, "but the reeeeally interesting thing was how much time I had to look around your offices, seeing as the Governor here was bound and gagged before I even got there". Kyal leaned right in next to the Governor's ear, "we didn't have as much fun as I'd hoped, you and I, it's hard to enjoy a good beating when they're bruised, battered, and defenceless in a corner...but we found a way didn't we."

"Walter, what is this?" One of the committee members stepped forward angrily, "you told us the Governor died in his sleep!" An angry buzz began around the room, Donovan looked agitated however McIntosh stood his ground. "Very cute Kyal, trying to turn my followers against me, but they're a little wiser and more mature than you give them credit for-"

"I knew something was fishy, he's just trying to seize power for himself!"

McIntosh shuffled awkwardly on his feet as the murmuring dissent grew louder, Donovan gritted his teeth and swung the rifle around to face Kyal. "What are you doing?" McIntosh hissed, "don't risk the life of our beloved Governor, let's hear out this violent, irresponsible, _untrustworthy,_ murderer so we may peacefully resolve this situation".

Zane focused in on McIntosh's eyes, they were nearly bulging out of his head trying to convey some sort of private message to Donovan. Zane glanced across the room; all attention was on the doorway, there was nowhere to go but if he could at least carefully move away from the centre of the wall...

"Lie, don't lie, it doesn't really bother me if I'm a scapegoat to explain tying up the Governor then assuming power, it's not like it makes any difference, not in the whole scheme of things. I mean, if you've beaten the Governor, and by you I mean your little man servant with the gun over there, and I've beaten the Governor, and he still won't admit he hasn't tampered with the door, then there's no point keeping up this charade".

"What charade?" McIntosh asked suspiciously, "I'm simply-"

"The charade of life" Kyal cackled hysterically, "why do any of us toe the line? Do what we're told? Act _civilly_? Because it means getting to the afterlife. If you can pretend you don't want to murder everyone around you long enough then it will all pay off when you have a new world to abandon them in, up there". Kyal pointed at the ceiling and flashed another big grin at McIntosh, "oh come on, I know you're not any different from me, it's not even been 24 hours since the opening failure and you've seized power and executed, from the looks of that pile of bodies in the corner, about 17 vault dwellers. Why? Because you know there's nothing left to work for, why waste precious seconds of life not being the one on top of the pile?"

No snappy reply met Kyal's words this time; McIntosh appeared to be attempting a sneer but was having trouble working his facial muscles. Zane breathed a sigh of relief as he crouched down in the corner of the room; he was now obscured by tables and bodies, not the perfect hiding place but one that meant he wouldn't be executed as soon as Kyal left. Zane's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, especially in the moments when Kyal had mentioned the pile of bodies just as Zane had moved towards them, luckily no one had turned around. In a psychotic way, Zane pondered, Kyal had never been so, so in control of a situation. From what Susie had described before her death it sounded like Kyal had experienced a similar episode to what he'd been through in the corridors, it'd clearly pushed him over the edge...still, better than death Zane decided, but why were people experiencing this burning sensation differently? Zane peeked through chair legs at Kyal at the opposite side of the room, his brutish, one-dimensional direction was completely subdued by this clever, reckless personality. Zane looked down at his hands, he didn't feel any different, not yet anyway...why am I alive while others burned in their sleep?

Another break out of general commotion brought Zane's attention back to the centre of the room, some of the committee members were shouting at McIntosh. "This is outrageous! We should be in mourning for those lost in this freak accident, yet you decide to start a civil war! We will not let this stand, Donovan, were you in on this? Drop your weapon this instant!"

Donovan began to slowly lower his rifle but McIntosh cut across him, "oh no you're won't, you are not abandoning me on this Donovan, you're hired muscle until the bitter end". McIntosh pushed Donovan's rifle back up to face Kyal and pulled out a pistol, sticking it between the eyes of the closest committee member. "Since it now appears I face spending my remaining years alone or not at all, I have a confession to make, while it is true we have only one vault issued fire-arm, in the hands of my associate here, I have been attempting to make my own from some old manuals for the past decade, let's hope it works". McIntosh exchanged a look with Kyal before pulling the trigger. Blood splattered all over McIntosh's body as the portly committee member fell back on to the floor, his face no longer recognisable. There was an explosion of chaos as everyone rushed the door; Donovan began firing into the crowd randomly. Zane could still see Kyal from across the room barring the doorway, unsure of what to do next, and then his eyes narrowed. Kyal sliced open the Governor's throat and pushed him into the crowd of fleeing mass, sprinting in the opposite direction. The committee members trampled him as they barged out into the corridor, "well? Go after them!" Donovan muttered his discontent and ran out into the corridor as well, leaving Zane and McIntosh alone in the room. Zane watched McIntosh, had he truly forgotten about him so easily? McIntosh was standing still in the centre of the room consulting his watch, then, after about a minute he pulled out what looked like a remote control. "Aaand that should do it", Donovan strolled over to the doorway and looked down the corridor, satisfied that no one was around he breathed a sigh of relief, and pressed the button.

An almighty explosion rocked the vault, the thunderous blast lead into a continuous deafening crash of scraping metal and shattering glass. Zane jumped out of his hiding place and tackled McIntosh to the ground, "YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Zane screamed over the noise. "My boy, every floor and every sector of the vault has been detonated, it's taken me ten years to prepare this, a backup plan to ensure I live a long and peaceful life without work and surrounded by the food I love". Zane couldn't believe what he was hearing; every single person he'd ever known was dead except for this madman.

The effects of the explosion began to quieten, blocks of cement crumbled down the walls outside as dust filled the room. "What about me? Why did you leave me alive, why am I special?"

"Special? I just plain forgot about you Zane, there's nothing special about it".

"So that's it then? You have no backup plan, you don't have some trick up your sleeve to stop me killing you with my own bare hands?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far..." McIntosh chuckled and pulled out a pistol, jabbing it into Zane's side. "Everyone is so content to bide their time, accept their place in society, no one has the will to break free and fight for themselves, I would never have admitted it to that arrogant punk's face, but we think quite alike. The only difference is that I spent my time developing explosives and firearms while he bullied kids in the hallway, oh well, play time is over". Another loud bang went off as Zane felt the now all too familiar feeling of his side splitting open. McIntosh pushed him off and got to his feet, Zane couldn't move a muscle to fight him, the pain was blinding.

McIntosh dusted himself off and walked towards the vault exit door, Zane struggled to get to his feet, he found himself once again gasping for air as the pain took over his body, blood was pouring out between his closed fingers as he tried to plug the hole. "Special...that would've been nice, to feel the air on my face once in my long, empty life", McIntosh stroked the door, as if to coax it open. "It was too good to be true, those empty promises about life outside of here, how can any of us guarantee there is a world beyond these walls...how many generations of humans have born and died in here, how do we know the existence of 'Earth' isn't just the elaborate fabrication of a madman hundreds of years ago? It doesn't matter now, it's all over".

"You! You act like this was all inevitable, and then you continue this conspiracy nonsense that Kyal started to justify your actions!"

"Justify?" McIntosh turned to face Zane, "justify what?"

Zane stared at him in disbelief; he pushed himself upright with his free hand and attempted to stand toe to toe with McIntosh. "You murdered my friends, my co-workers, you murdered Violet", tears sprang into Zane's eyes, "as a backup to not becoming the boss of this grimy hole?"

"Violet...ah yes, the spunky girl with the black hair, I'm sure you've noticed she's not in here...she saw Donovan escorting another of your generation quite forcefully to the cafeteria, I tried stopping her from running off but, well, she kicked me in the shins".

"Yeah" Zane chuckled, "that sounds about right, at least she didn't have to die on an assembly line like the rest of them".

"Yep, well, it's been fun, it really has, I'm going to miss human interaction, eventually, but it's really time to put you out of your misery". McIntosh coolly raised the pistol to Zane's eye level and took a deep breath. "Goodby-" BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. McIntosh slowly turned round to face the computer screen on the door changing colours, from red to green. A long, loud, scraping noise filled the room as gears and locks rotated behind the door before finally, the gigantic opening was released from its seal and slowly swung open.

"Wh-why? Impossible!" McIntosh stared into the antechamber in amazement and took a tentative step forward. "Freedom?"

"LIKE HELL!" With a burst of energy Zane jumped onto McIntosh's back and struggled to take the pistol. "You, I will make you pay for all of this!" Zane wrestled the gun out of McIntosh's hands, but at the same moment McIntosh threw Zane off his back. They stared at each other, Zane on the ground with the gun, McIntosh standing tall above him, the old and the new, the moment their eyes locked seemed to last an eternity. "NO!" McIntosh dived towards Zane, and the gun shot echoed around the room. McIntosh slumped over Zane's body, blood flowing out of the hole on his forehead. Zane lay there for a moment as blood pooled onto his shoulder and chest, he didn't know why the door had opened, and for the moment he didn't care. What was clear was that there was nothing left for him here. He shifted McIntosh off of him, and sat up. For the first time in many many hours there was perfect silence, tears leaked down Zane's cheeks, he'd almost come to terms with normality, the notion that he wasn't any more special than the next person, and yet here he was the only survivor of the vault to face the world. Zane stepped through the doorway into a small plain room with nothing but a table and chairs, at the other end was a ladder. "Oh great", Zane gritted his teeth, threw away the gun, and began his slow journey, one hand tightly clamped on his side, the other reaching into the darkness for the next rung.

As he climbed in the silence, Zane couldn't help but shake a feeling, a feeling that his life had, for the first time, escaped his control, as if others were toying with his destiny. Why else had the vault door opened just as he was about to be killed? Regardless, Zane thought, it's a brand new life from here on out, a second chance, and I won't let my fate escape me again.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After what seemed like days of climbing, there was light in the distance. Zane had climbed as fast as his body would let him, only stopping on a couple of occasions to stop his head from spinning. For awhile he'd begun to fear that the exit would be blocked somehow, it seemed impossible that regardless of how far down he was that he couldn't see the light, but he was nearly there now. Five more rungs, four, three, two, one, Zane heaved himself out of the darkness onto a grimy wooden floor and just lay, gasping for breath, as he tried to take in his surroundings. He appeared to be in a one-room shack, clearly long abandoned evident by the thick layers of dust. Zane pulled himself up-right against the table and spotted some cans of food, still sealed. "Well, whatever I contract from eating this can't be worse than death by starvation". Zane smashed the can down repeatedly against a chair until some vegetable mush oozed out. Zane devoured the contents and began searching for more, but the rest of the cabin appeared to be empty. With a deep breath, Zane pushed open the front door, ready to absorb the wonders of the surface, as for the first time he was exposed to unfiltered sunlight and air. Zane took in his surroundings, as his encyclopaedias had predicted there was virtually none of the greenery of old, a rocky terrain stretched into the distance, although there did appear to be a snow-capped mountain on the horizon. Zane took a few more steps out, a cool breeze chilling his skin...so this is nature.

After a minute standing rooted to the spot, a dull rumbling met Zane's ears. Was this thunder Zane thought? There didn't appear to be a large formation of black clouds in the sky as his books had indicated, and the rumbling was continuous, growing louder. A couple of small stones bounced off the back of Zane's head, he turned and saw that the cabin had been built into a cliff, a cliff that was looking less stable by the second as the rumbling shook its foundations. Zane stumbled a few steps back as larger rocks fell from the top, the Earth shook under his feet and Zane tripped and fell. Then, with an almighty roar, the ground exploded right where he'd been standing seconds earlier. A gigantic creature launched itself out of the dirt as dust and sand rained down, obscuring Zane's view of the monster. As the dust cloud began to clear however, Zane began to wish those few seconds where the creature could have been a large mole, or even a crazy new type of bear, lasted longer. The creature that stared at him was as tall as the cliff, at least standing 10 metres. Its body appeared to be made out of several boulders, somehow connected to each other to form the body of a snake, its head was the largest boulder of all with a rock horn protruding out of the top, and two hollowed out spaces, pitch black, with tiny, beady, eyes glaring out from the darkness. Zane was frozen, absolutely terrified, nothing could have prepared him for this, this thing. He started shuffling backwards but the monster let out another roar, its head splitting into two as its wide, gaping, mouth opened. The creature shot towards him, but Zane had already assigned himself to death the moment he'd laid eyes on it. So I wasn't special after all... he closed his eyes in preparation for the pain.

CRACK!

A shadow flew past Zane's ear and intercepted the giant rock snake head on. Zane could barely believe his eyes as another monster stood in front of him, gritting its teeth, as it pushed the rock snake back away from him. This new monster was roughly 2 metres in height; however it was covered in thick, purple armour, appearing to be made up of some sort of steel skin. It too sported a horn, and a large tail that it repeatedly whacked against the ground to help it build momentum, narrowly missing Zane in the process. The second monster bellowed triumphantly as it eventually clamped its claws onto the rock snake's head, charging forward and droving the snake into the cliff, then swinging it back around over Zane's head, the gargantuan snake spinning through the air, and crashing to the ground 30 metres away.

Zane stumbled to his feet and began edging away, but his worst fears came to light as the second monster then turned its attention to him, lowering its head and then charging. It was fast, unbelievably so considering its bulk, however it was knocked off its feet by a brown blur, speeding in from the side out of nowhere. The purple creature and the third monster smashed against the ground and rolled over each other as they fought for control, the purple monster eventually coming out on top. It repeatedly head butted the pinned creature, still obscured from Zane's view. It was terrifying, the strength and speed of these beasts; Zane could not tear his eyes away from the action, even though he knew he was next in line once the distractions ran out. Suddenly the purple creature was knocked back through the air as the third monster rolled to its feet, this one resembling a large boulder too, made up of smaller, perfectly round, and tightly packed, rocks. Small arms, legs, and a head poked out from the rock armour as it had appeared to endure the beating perfectly. In a flash it retracted its limbs and spun on the spot at an incredible pace before finally gripping the dirt and shooting off towards the purple creature, taking it by surprise, and ramming itself squarely into its gut. The third creature ricocheted away and spun into the cliff, struggling to regain its composure, the second creature was down on both knees, gasping for air as it clutched its midsection, eyes bulging out of its head, the first creature slowly began to stir and uncoil, it occurred to Zane that being in the middle of all three was not an ideal location. He turned and ran as fast as his side would let him, making sure he was putting as much distance as possible between himself and the rock snake before anything else. Zane twisted his head and saw the purple creature bow its head, and begin to charge at him, a few metres to its left the boulder creature retracted its limbs and began to spin alongside of it. The rock snake too was awake again and it screeched its rage at being taken by surprise, its enormous body writhed along the ground, its sheer mass allowing it to cover ground much faster than the other two beasts. Its mouth opened wide again as it closed in on Zane, his legs beginning to give way, and then he tripped. The moment seemed to last an eternity, his body was propelled forward through the air, the ground rushing up to meet him, but it never did.

A bolt of orange collided with Zane as he found himself caught in the jaws of another giant animal, this one appearing to be a mixture of lion and dog, at least as tall as the purple creature. The dog darted in and out of the rock snake's lunges, dodging its attacks with ease, before sprinting to a stop away from the three monsters. "Uh...thanks?" Zane wondered if it could understand English, hopefully it had no intention of eating him as it twisted its head and released his shirt from its gigantic teeth, slinging Zane onto its back. The boulder creature had changed directions and was now spinning circles around Zane and his temporary saviour, daring the dog to make a break for it. The purple creature watched carefully from afar, judging that it did not have the acceleration to keep up and waited for someone else to make the first move. The rock snake obliged as it again recklessly dove towards Zane, the dog again have no trouble leaping out of danger, however this was the opening the boulder creature was looking for as it immediately set a course for where Zane would land. The dog noticed this and seemed to swell up under Zane, suddenly its fur burned red hot, and the dog released a fire ball from its mouth straight at the boulder, hitting it head on and causing it to skid away and slam into the tail of the rock snake. If not for being on the verge of having a heart attack out of fear for his life, Zane would probably have begun to question whether or not he was awake, as his makeshift steed could not only move at an unbelievable pace, but could now breathe fire.

The rock snake began to encircle Zane, its coils closing in as it attempted to squeeze them into submission, but the dog was again too quick to react, jumping off the coils until it reached the top and leapt to safety, just as they came together with a thunderous crash. Zane held on for dear life as the dog darted away from the toppling snake as it appeared to tangle itself within its bulky frame, finally falling to the Earth, its head bouncing off the ground. "Good boy" Zane whispered as he nervously patted the dog's head, the dog growled and Zane quickly withdrew his hand. The final creature, the purple-armoured beast, glared at them and took a few menacing steps forward. The dog growled again, it too taking a step forward, it shuddered and then burst into flames. Zane cried out in horror as he was engulfed in fire, however it did not burn him, the flames licked at his face, they were warm, cosy, but not frying him alive. Fire left off the dog's fur, it growled again and its paws ignited further, flames blazing in all directions. The purple creature stared for a few moments, and then shuffled back cautiously; this was a battle not worth fighting. The dog flexed its back and then took off, blitzing straight past the remaining monster, in a matter of seconds it had already put a 100 metres between them, 300 metres, and then the battle area, the creature, and the vault entrance were well and truly gone from view. The landscape turned into a brown-grey blur, and then it faded to black as Zane finally lost consciousness as the multiple wounds, the draining journey up the shaft, and the exhausting encounter with the freakish monsters, finally caught up with him.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Zane sat down in the cafeteria and looked glumly at the slop in front of him, "mmm, recycled recycled recycled vegetation, my favourite!"

"Oh stop complaining, you'd rather starve?" Violet walked over with an equally grotesque platter of "food" and sat down next to Zane, kissing him on the cheek.

"How was school?"

"Ohh the usual" Violet sighed, "I know you don't need it, but you could come sometimes for me?" Violet gave Zane that perfect smile that always melted him to seal the deal.

"Well, ok, I guess it wouldn't hurt- hey! Eat your own mush!" Zane tried stopping her pushing the mush off her plate onto his, "you were defending it only a minute ago!"

"Yeah well that was before I tasted it, yuck!" Violet stuck her tongue out in defiance.

The table they were eating at rattled as a person at the other end slumped into their food, lying motionless, perhaps asleep. "Uuuh, maybe we shouldn't actually be eating this stuff..." Violet murmured cautiously. There was a bang behind them as another vault dweller face-planted into their tray, this time however he was convulsing, his hands gripped tightly over his head, eyes bulging out of their sockets. Zane lept out of his chair, he knew what this was, "Vi get back, they're having these things where their brain overheats! I've seen this before..."

"Where?"

Violet looked around nervously as a few others lost consciousness, another was thrashing round on the floor, his hands clamped around his skull. "I...can't remember, just try and remain calm and empty your thoughts, keep your mind as blank as possible, it's going to be ok".

"Keep my what? Oh I can't even, my head, it burns so much..."

"NO! Stay with me Vi, don't think about anything!"

Zane looked around franticly, he needed to cool her down fast, and yet no one in the room had bothered to get a glass of water with their lunch. Zane ran over to the service bench and slid across it into the kitchen, the two lunch ladies too lying stiff on the floor. Zane felt his face begin to heat up, WHY WAS THERE NO WATER ANYWHERE?! Zane collapsed down onto all fours, he was so dizzy, and so hot, "I'm...sorry...Vi..." Zane crumpled on the floor, tears welling in his eyes, "I...failed you...again...". Zane tried to refocus as he couldn't recall when he'd failed her previously, as if a huge chunk of memory was just out of his reach, but the additional thought was too much to bear. Zane could feel himself slipping away, he just needed to let go and it would all be over, then he might be with Violet again, after all was there any point fighting it anymore? Just as the thought crossed Zane's mind the ground began to the shake, the rumbling grew more intense, as if it was getting closer. Zane tried to let go but the rumbling wouldn't let him, he wanted to let go, but he was being tugged away from the darkness, and then, with one final pull...

Zane snapped awake, a nurse stood over him shaking his shoulders, "Finally! You were a right mess, I was afraid we were going to lose you". Zane slowly looked around, he seemed to be in a makeshift infirmary, he tried to reply to the nurse but he couldn't get any words out, his throat was completely dry. "Oh, water, yes I'm not surprised considering how much you've just sweated out everywhere, hold on a sec".

Zane sat up in the bed, everything came rushing back to him, he wasn't in the vault anymore, Violet was dead...and the monsters! The nurse walked back into his enclosure, and handed him a tall glass of murky water, "I apologize, it is a bit unprofessional for a medical facility to use dirty water instead of purified water...but we're having a bit of a shortage at the moment and would like to keep our remaining stock for emergencies".

"That's ok" Zane gasped, "tastes a little better then what we were drinking in the vault".

"Ah yes, you're a T-Vaulter aren't you?

"I'm sorry?" Zane had never heard that term before.

"A T-Vaulter, you're from the 'T' range of vaults, their release dates are this year. You see the vaults were opened in increments, starting with the A-Vaulters about 50 years ago, so that later vaults would have a pre-existing society to integrate into, rather than releasing the entire vault population in a chaotic mess...but I'm sure you have more pressing questions than something like that?"

Zane blankly stared at the nurse, all his curiosities of the surface had meekly abandoned him as he contemplated how closely he'd come to death on multiple occasions. The nurse laughed, "ok, maybe you're still in a bit of shock, let's start of slowly shall we? My name is Nurse Joy, what's yours?"

Zane coughed nervously, realising she was already probably looking down on him as some sort of vault hillbilly due to his unresponsive nature, "I'm Zane...and I uh...yeah I am in a bit of shock, so where are we exactly?"

"You Zane are in the town of Megaton; it has actually got quite a sizeable population considering what else is out there in the wasteland, but not even close to some of the hubs emerging out East like Celadon and Saffron City, still, the biggest thing you'll find around these parts".

"Is it safe to walk around the wasteland? I mean aside from the monsters I saw, is their still radiation lingering?"

The nurse giggled, "Oh so you did have a run-in with some of Earth's new friends, I was wondering if you'd had a sample of the wastes before you made it to our front door."

"Front door?" Zane queried, "Ah that's right, a big flaming dog rescued me from these rock creatures, I guess it dropped me where it knew I could get some medical attention right?"

The nurse paused, "Flaming dog? I haven't heard that one before, you might want to go see the Professor later about that, you might have discovered a new species! Getting back to your previous question, it is generally safe to wander the wastes as far as radiation levels go, although there are still hotspots around to avoid. You shouldn't worry too much about those hon, most of them have plenty of warning signs around, travellers have had plenty of years now to map safe routes for the rest of us".

Zane leant forward to ask another question however he felt a stabbing pain in his side, and collapsed back down. "I wouldn't make too many sudden movements with those wounds, frankly you're lucky to be alive at all. Now if I may inquire, you didn't receive these wounds from bandits up here on the surface did you?" Zane shook his head. "Ok then, so, and I don't need an explanation from you, but we won't be seeing anymore from your particular vault then?" Zane shook his head again, "I'm the only one".

The nurse busied herself clearing away some medical instruments from the bench next to Zane, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see if Zane was going to tell her the story anyway, but Zane simply lay, allowing the awkward silence to continue, he was in no mood to revisit what had happened down there. Nurse Joy cleared her throat, "well if that's all..."

"Actually there is one more thing"

"Yes?" Nurse Joy looked up eagerly.

"You said before when you woke me up that you were afraid you were going to lose me...is it normal for people to die from their nightmares now?"

Nurse Joy walked over to the far side of the room and looked out the window sadly, "Recently...there have been some deaths in Megaton...and you were displaying all the symptoms, extreme temperature, the sudden thrashing...I was going to mention this to you when you were ready to leave, you may not receive the warmest of welcomes at the moment."

"I see...how many so far?"

Nurse Joy sighed, "About a dozen, after the first night we found 8 dead in their rooms, we thought it might be a serial killer...but then we've witnessed a few cases since then, one every few weeks or so, the people are scared."

Zane took another sip of water, was it worth mentioning there had been a similar incident in the vault? He opted against it; he didn't want to attract any undesirable attention from the townsfolk, or anymore questions about his past from the nurse.

Zane rolled out of bed, but his legs immediately gave way and he smacked his head on the side desk. "Owwwwwww", Zane found his feet this time as his eyes watered from yet another injury. "Tsk tsk, I wasn't going to discharge you until tomorrow, you could really do with the bed time".

"Hell no, I have to see more of this world, I've waited my whole life for this, and it nearly killed me as well, but I just gotta see more!"

"Well, on your own head be it, I'm not your babysitter, like I said before, go see the Professor, he'll answer your questions about the Pokemon."

"The what?"

"Just go see the Professor; he's in the techy-looking house up on the hill"

"Uh ok, thanks for everything!"

Zane took another stumbling few steps towards the door but crumpled again. "My my, that injury might be more serious than I realised, I didn't think it would affect your ability to walk though". Zane gritted his teeth, "it's really ok, I-"

"Here". The nurse rummaged through a supply closet and tossed Zane a walking stick, "I can see there's no stopping you, just try not to open up your wounds".

Zane nodded and limped out the door, placing more weight than he expected on the old walking stick. As he exited he was temporarily blinded by the light, how could a post-apocalyptic wasteland still be sunny? But sure enough as he opened his eyes he was met with a crystal clear, blue sky, the sun's warmth beaming down just at it had done in his history books. Zane only had a few seconds to stop and appreciate the surface before being bowled over.

"Oh sorry mister but I gotta run I'm going to be late for my graduation sorry bye!"

A boy about Zane's age sped off up the hill, waving apologetically while bumping into everything close to his path. Zane tried to get a proper look at him but in a few seconds he was already out of sight. "Need a hand friend?"

Zane looked around and was met with a young girl offering him her hand, "Gold isn't actually intentionally rude, just reckless". Zane grabbed her hand and pulled himself up, "thanks, I'm Zane, from the vault".

"ohhh" the girl clapped her hands in excitement, "so you're on your way to the Professor's house too? We can go together, I'm Rose". Rose picked up Zane's walking stick and handed it to him, "you must've been injured pretty bad, what did all that to you?" Rose pointed to the bandages covering his entire mid section. "Uh, it's a long story, let's just say I probably shouldn't be alive right now", Zane smiled grimly, what was that promise he made about controlling his own destiny? Rose pouted, Zane laughed, "What is it with this town; you're a nosy bunch aren't you?"

"Nosy?!" Rose cried indignantly before relaxing, "Well, maybe a little bit, we don't get many fresh vault dwellers around here, the Prof's gunna have a field day bringing you up to speed on the Wasteland".

Zane stared at her for a few seconds; maybe she wasn't as young as he thought, her bubblegum pink hair tied in a side-ponytail gave off the impression of a child, but her demeanour seemed a little more mature than that.

"Give your bodies to Atom, my friends. Release yourself to his power, feel his Glow and be divided!"

As Zane and Rose rounded the corner they were confronted with a group of about 10 people surrounding a nuclear bomb. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is...are they worshipping, a bomb?" Rose giggled, "Ha! Even a vault dweller thinks it's stupid...no offence, but yeah they're worshipping it."

"Hey, you there!" Zane froze; it appeared that their leader, speaking at them from on top of a crate, had noticed them. "Come forth and drink the waters of the Glow, for this ancient weapon of war is our salvation, it is the very symbol of Atom's glory!"

"Drink from it? Oh..."

As the crowd parted Zane could see that the front of the giant bomb was buried into a murky pond. "Um thank you, but yeah, uh, not on your life". Rose snorted from behind him. The crowd murmured disapprovingly, stupid Zane, stupid! Zane berated himself mentally, this wasn't the time to be mouthing off, he needed to make friends with these people. The leader however didn't seem disturbed in the least, "Your ailment! Your suffering shall exist no longer! It shall be washed away in Atom's Glow, burned from you in the fire from his brilliance!"

Zane froze on the spot; he really didn't want to drink that dirty looking water...

"Friends!" Rose stepped past Zane and held her hand up, "Please, our guest here is just out of the infirmary and still not well, neither in mind nor body, we're just on our way to the Professor to clear some things up, then I guarantee we will be back here to bath in the glory of Atom!"

"Ahhh excellent, Fair thee well children". The leader waved them off elegantly before returning to his sermon, the crowd hanging on his every word.

"Thank you, again, is it actually safe to drink that water? Zane queried.

Rose chuckled, "I suppose, the chances of radiation poisoning occurring from something that minor are pretty slim, just don't let the Prof catch you hanging out there".

"Not a man of faith I take it?"

"Well there's that, but he's also pretty cautious about the effects of radiation, it's his life's work after all".

Zane gulped, he'd been awake for less than an hour in this town and he was already caught between two strong beliefs, he'd definitely have to tread lightly, he didn't want to end up on the other side of those entrance gates anytime soon. The outskirts of Megaton were lined with enormous metal walls of different sizes, crude, but effective, Zane thought.

"We're here!" Zane stood before a house that was boldly different from the rest of the town. Instead of brown/grey wooden walls, often with the windows smashed in, a bright, and in places fluorescent, metallic laboratory overlooked the entire area. "Come on!" Rose grabbed Zane's hand and pulled him along, Zane struggling to keep up on his walking stick. Rose charged through the front doors, "Yo Prof, Rosie is here! And I brought the vault man with me!"

"Oh good, good, now everything can begin".

The lab appeared to be one gigantic room, with all manner of machines lining the outside, and at the other end was a group of teenagers staring curiously at him, the one elderly man they surrounded smiled kindly. "Come on over, today is the beginning of a great adventure!"

Of course it is, Zane chuckled inwardly, who would need rest after being shot, stabbed, and attacked by monsters?


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Rose led Zane over to the group of people, "hey all, this is Zane, the guy who was dead on our doorstep". Zane shifted nervously on his walking stick, clearly he'd been the talk of Megaton, "uh yeah hi everyone, pleased to meet-"

"Oi Gramps, stop paying attention to this nobody and let's get on with it!" Another guy about Zane's age stepped forward, his spiky brown hair and arrogant smirk immediately got on Zane's nerves.

"Blue! Don't be so rude!" Rose stepped forward and grabbed Blue by the shirt, "this isn't all about you you know!"

Blue slapped her hand away, "HA, it may as well be, you weaklings won't last a second out in the Wastes".

"What was that!?" The boy that had knocked over Zane earlier barged forward knocking Rose over and grabbed Blue's shirt by the neck as well.

"You heard me, weakling, and stop touching my shirt!" Blue slapped his hand away too.

"Now now, I know you're all very excited, Blue, quit being a jerk, Gold, don't get so easily ruffled. Are you okay down there Rose?"

"I'm good Prof", Rose dusted herself off and shot a glare at Gold. "Very well then, today marks the beginning of the rest of your life, and I don't mean that in a feel-good metaphorical sense. You've been judged fit and able to tackle the Wastes on your own so as to provide yourselves with a living and contribute to Megaton in any way you see fit." Blue snorted contemptuously, Gold and Rose looked on eagerly, the other girl adjusted her glasses nonchalantly, the final member of the group, a man with long messy black hair, looked on gauntly. "You've all undertaken your survival studies and proved competent in dangerous situations, so I will now award you with 3 Pokeballs each and a Pokedex. While you are not bound or obligated to contribute to our community or to my research, I would greatly appreciate it if you-"

"Yeah yeah thanks Gramps" Blue snatched three peculiar looking metallic balls off the bench and an electronic device, "smell ya later". The Professor wearily looked after him, "never mind him Prof" Rose piped up "he'll be back soon".

Zane looked on in bewilderment as the incredibly rude Blue strode out, smirking back at them. The Professor ran his hand through his grey hair, "he's just in a hurry to catch up with his father I guess, and I ask you youngsters not to be too hard on the poor lad". The black haired man rolled his eyes, Rose quivered in anger.

"As I was saying" the Professor continued, "I would appreciate it if you all used these Pokedexes to record Pokemon in the wild so the collective knowledge for travellers around the region can grow, however please, please, always put your own safety and wellbeing first. The Wasteland is a harsh, unforgiving environment, you will encounter all manner of humans, robots, and Pokemon, that will attempt to kill you on the spot, sometimes just for the shirt on your back, sometimes just because you're there. Good luck!"

"Thank you, Professor". A fire burned in Rose and Gold's eyes, they stepped forward and shook the Professor's hand, each taking another three of the strange metallic spheres off the table, as well as the electronic device, and made their way out of the laboratory. "See you later Zane", Rose waved back as she exited. Gold pushed past her, "I'll catch up to you Blue!"

The black haired man stepped forward as well, the light reflected off his sickly pale face, made worse in contrast by the darkness of his hair that draped over it. The large bags under his eyes, his hunched, skinny frame, gave off the air that he wasn't far from death. "Stay safe, Aaron." The man nodded slightly, gathered his three balls and the device, and left without a word. Zane struggled to believe that someone who looked that sickly could have possibly passed any survival tests.

"And then there was two" the Professor smiled, "Zane was it? This is my Granddaughter, Liliana. Liliana, this is the boy from the vault, you don't mind staying for this do you?"

Liliana pushed a few strands of her short green hair away from her face, "I don't mind", she answered curtly. "And it's Lily" she added to Zane.

"Yes yes, now where to begin", the Professor rubbed his hands together eagerly. "The beginning?" Lily suggested dryly. "Excellent idea Liliana! Zane!"

"Y-yes?" Zane stuttered.

"What do you know about pre-Apocalyptic nuclear warfare?"

"Uhh, not a lot I'm afraid, although the weapons they developed towards the end were supposed to have unimaginable power, I remember reading old news reports questioning whether the vaults would even survive their detonation".

"Oh a historian! It's pretty rare to see youth these days with any interest in the past".

"I wouldn't go that far Professor; there really isn't much to do in a vault".

"Oh ho I know my lad, I know, I'm not that young, I was in a vault once too, yes." The Professor ran his hand through his hair again, looking off into the distance".

"Ahem!" Lily coughed loudly snapping the Professor back to reality. "Right! Yes! The bombs! Nasty business, but it's interesting you refer to the changes made right towards the end, because the nuclear stockpile was in fact totally overhauled. A new man-made element was developed, extremely volatile, hundreds of times more powerful then what they had previously. Part of the nuclear fission was a new, more devastating chemical reaction, releasing a more destructive wave of energy on impact, completely disintegrating the molecular structure of atoms in the area".

"That seems...a little unbelievable".

"Well ha, yes, the radioactive isotopes were much too volatile and unstable for something so finetuned. No, they miscalculated the power of this new Poketronic energy and interpreted it as the greatest destructive force ever created, when in fact it was probably a step backwards. When those bombs did drop, the explosive power was great, and widespread, there was no holding back once the first was launched...however the new element in the bombs did little to assist that. Instead the unstable nature of the radiation altered all life that remained on the surface".

"I thought that was normal for nuclear bombs?"

"Aha yes, you are a studious lad aren't you? No I should put this into perspective for you, the DNA of animals, plants, and humans were drastically altered, in fact they still are being altered. It is acting as an evolutionary accelerant, the life of the past have grown into new creatures, developing offensive and defensive assets to help them survive the harsh new environment".

"Those monsters I ran into when I left the vault...they are just evolved forms of animals from the old world?"

"I know it may be a little hard to believe in some cases, you have to understand how fast this has occurred, some have evolved much further than others".

Zane paused for a few seconds, "and what about the humans that were exposed? Are they monsters now as well?"

The Professor's brow furrowed as he shuffled some notes on his desk sadly. "You could say that...I guess it would be wrong to call it evolution, they have been altered dramatically, poor souls". Zane hastily changed the subject, "so Nurse Joy said you were an expert with these new animals, have you given them all new names?"

The Professor's face brightened up again, "Yes that's right! I'm the world's leading authority on Pokemon, Professor Oak, and I have been a major contributor to the naming process of these new species".

"Pokemon? I think Nurse Joy mentioned that word as well".

"It stands for 'Poketronic-Monster', that is, monsters created or evolved from Poketronic radiation" Lily explained.

"Created?"

"Aha we don't need to go into that right now do we Liliana?" Oak interjected. Lily shrugged and looked away. Zane's mind raced for another question, all his preparation for life on the surface had been thrown out the window with this new development.

"Anyway Zane, once your injuries are healed, and you've completed my survival course, I'll allow you to follow the others and create a living for yourself in this world. There are unexplored ruins everywhere with weapons and valuables that can create a profit for people willing to risk the excursion; supermarkets especially are a battleground for wanderers trying to hoard food and water for themselves or to sell to traders".

"And how do I defend myself against these Pokemon, and other humans, Rose or the others didn't seem to have any weapons on her at all?"

"Aah" The Professor's eyes twinkled, "Knives are redundant, firearms and ammunition are very expensive and in short supply, that's where these come in". He rummaged around his lab coat pockets and produced another metallic ball, identical to the ones he'd given Blue, Rose, Gold, and Aaron. "This is a Pokeball, it's also charged with Poketronic energy, although in a much smaller quantity than used in the bombs. It's designed to capture Pokemon and store them inside".

Zane stared blankly; this only raised more questions...

"I'll take it from here Professor" Lily piped in. "These balls have been developed in the last few decades with a slightly altered version of the element that was infused into the nuclear weapons. On contact with a Pokemon it breaks down their structure at a molecular level and converts them into pure Poketronic energy that is kept in stasis inside the ball. When the Pokeball is re-activated, the Pokemon's original molecular structure is restored with one change, the volatility and wildness that's part of their nature is numbed slightly towards the person who captured it. That isn't to say they are entirely friendly, but over time they can be tamed to perform tasks and defend you".

"Incredible!"

Lily sighed, "Not exactly. Some Pokemon have strengthened themselves over time at an atomic level, their cells are actually less volatile and therefore less susceptible to a breakdown from the Pokeball. In this instance it would be required to weaken them first and then try to capture them, the Poketronic nature of their cells has a very slight regenerative ability, sending that into overdrive decreases their molecular stability, thus lowering their defences".

"This is all very well thought out. Who comes up with all this technology? I didn't think there'd be any form of industry out there with those kinds of capabilities".

The Professor coughed proudly, "Well when you are the leading authority on Pokemon-"

"This old man here and a group of scientists spent years building this technology from the old lab reports of the nuclear scientists. The only true corporation existing today is PokeIndustries, everything else is what you'd expect, street vendors and desert traders selling their produce".

"Liliana! You ruined my story! How can you rush through decades of groundbreaking research, all of the triumphs and the failures, in just a couple of sentences?!" Oak ruffled his own hair in annoyance, it was clear to Zane now that he wasn't just some local Professor, he was probably a household name across the new world.

"Here Zane, take a look and I'll show you how it works". Lily plucked the Pokeball out of Oak's hand and offered it to Zane.

"Is it radioactive?" Zane asked tentatively.

"Well yes, but not on a level where it would be dangerous to carry around, the scientific consensus is that only once you carry around 6 or 7 of them at a time, the level of radiation exposure becomes a slight concern".

Zane gulped nervously and slid his fingers around the smooth curvature of the Pokeball. "Oh! Its very light isn't it, what's with the colouring?" Zane pointed to its odd design, the top half being red, the bottom half white, with a black band going around the ball, horizontally dividing the two colours. Also on the band was a small white button, "Is this the activation button?"

"Yes it is, and why are the Pokeballs coloured that way Professor?"

"Don't ask me" Oak shrugged.

"I thought you were the leading authority on-"

"Hey! That isn't even relevant; do I look like I work in marketing?"

Zane scratched his head, he thought his intelligence was at worst, above average, but this would all take some time to understand. There was a fear inside of him, a fear of a quick death, after only just escaping the confined world of the vault. This world was large, and clearly alive and expanding, he wanted to explore it, experience life, but every time he considered roaming the landscape, that nightmare reappeared in his vision, a gigantic rock snake bursting out of the ground, the purple armoured monster, the spinning boulder, encircling him. And yet, if he could find the Pokemon that rescued him, with that at his side he'd be untouchable...

"Uh Professor, I have a question about a certain Pokemon". Oak and Lily looked up from their squabble, "Y-yes Zane? You want me to identify one that attacked you?"

"Aha not quite, the one that saved me from my attackers, it was a huge orange dog, with black stripes and patches of white fur and a white tail. It's unbelievably fast and can also ignite itself in flames, does it have a name?"

Oak stared blankly at him, "Zane...I've never heard of anything remotely resembling that, I think you may be describing a new unrecorded Pokemon!"

"Unrecorded?"

"Yes! I'm compiling a database of all known species; here I'll show you on my computer. Give me the description of one of the Pokemon that did attack you, considering you surfaced not far from here we should definitely have them on file".

"Oh, well, one was a gigantic snake made up of rocks-"

"Aah Onix", Oak typed into the computer and swivelled the screen around to face Zane. Several pictures of the monster appeared on the screen as well as a table of facts.

"Onix, Rock type Pokemon, found predominantly in the South Western and North Western rocky areas, will attack on sight. Weaknesses: none currently known. Recommendation to avoid, danger rating: high". Lily finished reading the top portion of the screen and turned to Zane. "This is compiled from various field reports and encounters that are submitted via this", Lily picked up the electronic device that had also been given out. "This is a Pokedex, it identifies Pokemon in the Wasteland based on the Professor's existing database and can give tips on how to tackle them, although as you just read not in the case of an Onix".

"I get benefited by its use as well" Oak interjected, "People around the region take photos, record videos, and send field reports via the Pokedex that I can analyse and update my own systems with, the new information is then wirelessly sent to all active Pokdexes in range of our radio tower".

"You have quite the system set up Professor; I can't wait to get out there and find the Pokemon that saved me".

"Hahaa! You're a spirited lad aren't you? I'll take it then that you want to start your survival training as soon as possible?"

"That's right" Zane grinned, this is my chance to live a free and unpredictable life, I can't be worried about death, I owe that at the very least to Violet and the rest that died in the vault. "Liliana, show Zane to his room".

"Uhhh, and where would that be?"

"Why your room of course! You're bunking together until Zane can earn a living and buy a room of his own in town".

"WHAT!" Lily and Zane yelled together. "Come on Grandpa, you can't be serious, it's just not right for people of our age and gender to do that..."

Grandpa? Zane pondered, Lily...Oak?

"Hahahaaa! Stop complaining, a girl of your age should have had plenty of boyfriends by now anyway".

"You can't just decide that on your own!" Lily raged comically.

"Hey hey, don't be so unaccommodating to our new guest!" Oak mused as he started walking off. "I'll see you tomorrow Zane, be here at 10am sharp". Oak waved lazily in their direction as we walked out the door.

"Off to the saloon at this hour" Lily muttered under her breath grating her teeth, "that old coot!"

"Hey now, don't be so unaccommodating, let's see that room you have ready for me" Zane teased cheekily. As Lily turned her rage to him Zane smiled, this warm feeling inside, is this what it feels like to be part of a family?


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Zane flopped down on the single bed and propped his walking stick up against the bedside table. Lily sat down on her bed in the opposite corner of the room and started filing some papers away in a thick folder. Zane looked around the small plain room cheerfully, what was with this mood of his all of a sudden?

"Hey you, don't go looking so happy in here, you better not be getting any ideas". Lily scowled at him from her corner as she sealed the folder back up and slipped it underneath her bed.

"Ahaha no not at all Lily! It's just so great being out of the vault, and this world I can now be a part of...it's everything I dreamt of my entire childhood".

Lily stared strangely at him, "I still don't think you fully comprehend just how dangerous the wasteland is..."

Zane grinned, "I will take a dangerous and exciting existence over vault life any day!"

"If you insist" Lily shrugged. Zane continued to smile, hoping to look more confident than he felt. His stomach churned as he thought of the Onix he'd encountered within a minute of leaving the vault, not to mention the other two Pokemon. He wanted to explore the wasteland, fight and capture these creatures, for the sake of the dreams that had been snatched away from all of his fellow vault dwellers, he owed it to Violet to live his life to its fullest, so why was he breaking out in a sweat, why were his hands shaking just thinking about leaving the safety of Megaton?

"We still have a few hours left in the day Zane and there a few things we need to do before the shops all close". Zane snapped back to reality, Lily was counting what appeared to be paper money while packing a bag.

"Where are we off to?"

Lily zipped her bag up and started to leave, "Clothing store and saloon, come on". Zane hurriedly shuffled out of bed and limped after her. They made their way back up the hallway and into the main laboratory of the Oak residence. "Goodbye Liliana!" A random scientist called out. Lily mumbled a reply and strode out the door, Zane struggling to keep up with her pace.

"Aah so, do you always have a spare bed in your room in case outcasts turn up at Megaton?" Zane panted desperately; hopefully a conversation would make her slow down a little. Lily shook her head, "That bed was taken up until today by my brother".

"Your brother? ...Blue or Aaron?"

"Blue".

"Oh...he's a real charmer".

Lily cocked her eyebrow at him, "yeah and you were in the same room as him for about 30 seconds, I grew up with that!" Zane laughed; maybe this explained her largely cool demeanour, someone easily flustered probably wouldn't last a minute with Blue.

After a few seconds of silence Lily glanced back at him curiously, "How come you didn't consider Gold?"

"Oh nothing clever, I bumped into him just as I was leaving the infirmary while he was rushing to the lab; I just assumed then that he didn't live there".

"That's an interesting assumption to make" Lily replied unfathomably, returning her gaze forwards. Their walk took them back down the slope and into town, on second observation Zane noted that despite the dilapidated nature of the housing, they all provided sufficient sheltering from the rain at least; the roofing everywhere seemed to be much newer than the walls and doors.

"Here we are" Lily beckoned to a slightly larger wooden house that read _CLOTHES_ in striking white paint, though peeling in places. Well, at least it doesn't mess about, Zane thought, as they entered inside. A small bell tinkled as they opened the door, signalling their arrival to the shopkeeper, already preoccupied with another shopper.

"Liliana!"

Zane stared as a giant of a man, his dark skinned frame nearly touching the roof, abandoned the shopkeeper and lumbered across the room towards them.

"Oh Mr. Simms, what are you doing here?" Lily stuck out her hand to shake but the man swooped down and picked her up in a tight embrace.

"Oh look at you, all grown up, you know I remember the time-"

"Mr. Simms, please, I can't breath-"

"Woops, sorry there Liliana, guess I just don't know my own strength" he chuckled. "And who might this be?" His attention turned to Zane.

"Uh..." Zane began, the words wouldn't come out, this man towered over him, was he a mutation?

"This is Zane...from the vault" she added in a hushed tone.

"Ah yes, I should've guessed, welcome to Megaton Zane, I'm the Sheriff round these parts, Lucas Simms, but you can just call me Lucas" he chuckled again, winking at Lily. "No mister required".

"Y-yes, of course...Mr. Simms" Zane stammered.

Simms let out a booming laugh, "well, I tried my best".

"Excuse me sir, your hat".

The shopkeeper walked out of the corner of the dimly lit room and presented Simms with a large cowboy hat, which he put on immediately.

"Now that's better ain't it?" He reached into the pocket of his duster and produced a large wad of money, tossing it at the shopkeeper. "It's all there, don't you worry mate, Liliana, Zane". He tipped his hat and strode out into the sunlight.

"What can I do for you now Miss?"

"This guy here", Lily dragged Zane in front of her by the ear, "desperately needs some new clothing, I'd say, one casual set and one wastelander set, thank you".

"Hey! I do need some harder wear for roaming the wastes, but what's wrong with the casual clothes I have on now?" Lily looked Zane up and down and sighed deeply.

"Where to begin? You're wearing a paper-thin, baby blue, vault-issue, bottom of the barrel, shredded to pieces, jumpsuit! It smells, it's faded, I think I can see blood stains on it; you're a slob for even thinking about keeping it".

"Yeah, but its only casual clothing right?"

"And" Lily continued, "I'm sure you don't want to draw any more attention to yourself than needed. We have many strangers that travel through these parts, what declares that you're different from the rest to the townsfolk is your vault suit...now stop complaining and choose some clothes!"

"Ok ok". Zane wandered reluctantly over to a section of clothing and sheepishly picked out the first item he saw. "Is this ok?"

"No"

"You didn't even look!"

"Yeah and neither did you, try again".

Zane muttered under his breath and flicked through the clothing on the rack, I'm looking for something comfortable, average looking, probably not something white... Zane pondered for a few moments while Lily breathed down his neck to make sure he was contemplating his choice.

"What about this then?" Zane produced a pair of blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. "Does this pass the normality test?"

Lily sighed, "If anything they're probably a bit too clean, isn't there anything a bit more roughed up?"

Zane looked again and produced an identical pair of jeans except it had a few cuts down the right leg and was frayed at the bottom.

"Perfect!"

Zane sighed in relief, "And the wasteland clothes?"

"I got that covered. Excuse me Mr. Sullivan, just the wasteland regulars in his size please".

"Right away Ma'am", the shopkeeper ushered Lily over to the counter and picked up a bundle sitting beneath it. "They're selling faster these days, everyone wants to go out and catch a Pokemon for themselves...I remember when interaction with the abominations was taboo...that'll be $60,000 please".

"Is that really ok? Zane questioned worriedly as Lily tossed the shopkeeper two bundles of notes.

"Yeah it's fine, uh, long story short: inflation".

"Oh ok, thank you!"

"Don't mention it"

Zane awkwardly changed into his new jeans and t-shirt and exited the store with Lily. "You're bandaging is secure right? I don't want you bleeding all over the clothes I just bought you"

"Yeah yeah, don't worry I'll pay you back for them one day, saloon now?"

"Mm, I'll introduce you to some of the more distinguished Megaton residents, being a friend of the Professor is a good way to start making friends and losing the 'vault' tag. Then we'll drag that old coot back to the lab so he can finish the latest update for the Pokedex database".

They trekked through another section of Megaton now, passing the site of the unexploded bomb at a distance, a group of 20 or so still huddled around the preacher. Lily looked up at the faint noise of the sermon, but looked away indifferently when she located its source. "Have you met them already?" Lily asked Zane, noticing he couldn't help but observe what they were doing.

"Yeah with Rose, they tried to make me drink that water"

Lily shuddered and kept walking away from the site, Zane trailing behind her, still struggling on the crutches.

"Is it really alright for me to meet people so soon? I thought you didn't want me being noticed as the guy from the vault?"

"This is why I'm introducing you now, better to befriend them and be a familiar face when they catch on that you were the vault refugee rather than when you're complete stranger to them, bad things are happening at the moment and anything 'new' isn't exactly welcome".

Zane said nothing, for every kind person he'd met here; the perception that the town would reject him had only been reinforced. Where were all these prejudiced townsfolk that people kept referring to?

"And here we are, Moriarty's Saloon, the only saloon in the entire South West". The path of houses they'd been walking along opened up to reveal large shabby building with what looked vaguely like bison grazing around the side.

"Are they...?"

"Yep" Lily took her Pokedex out of the bag and flipped it open, aligning it with the Pokemon in front of her as if she was taking a photo, and pressed a small button on the top. The screen on the Pokedex lit up as a camera on the front began scanning its surroundings. After a few seconds a detailed picture of the Pokemon appeared on the screen with a prompt to 'access data'. Lily pressed another button next to the screen, and a recording by the Professor began to play:

"Tauros, normal type Pokemon, found commonly throughout the continent, with extremely large herds dwelling in the centre plains. Mild mannered and peaceful on the surface, its rage and ferocity knows no bounds when it is provoked. A popular new-age food source as an A-grade clean meat".

Another prompt flashed up on the screen, asking if further information was required, Lily pressed the button to confirm:

"A rampaging herd in the open fields provides a near certain outcome of death, recommendation to tackle singularly or from a strategic vantage point. Its horns and hooves are easily capable of breaking both human and Pokemon bones; a sneak attack on the legs would glean the best results in combat, although any captured Pokemon with sufficient armouring shouldn't have a problem dealing with Tauros' relatively low pain threshold".

Another prompt appeared on the screen but Lily closed her Pokedex and put it back in her bag. "It's just nutritional stuff about the meat, you wouldn't be interested".

"Can I go near them?" Zane had especially liked the part about them being mild mannered.

"Yeah, maybe don't touch them for now though, you're beat up enough as is".

Zane moved slowly closer to the Tauros and one turned away from him, Zane noticing that each had three tails rapidly flicking through the air.

"We don't actually have all day..."

"Oh r-right, yeah"

Zane froze on the spot for a moment, but then decided he'd inspect them up close another time and tailed Lily into the saloon.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It took a few seconds for Zane's eyes to adjust to the murky surroundings of the saloon; the ground floor was completely packed. Zane looked up to the second floor; a walk way ran around the entire inside of the building that led off to various rooms. Women leant over the railing at various spaces along the walkway, some conversing with drunken men at the first floor bar, others fanning themselves in an aloof manner. A man dressed in a white suit, complete with white dress shoes, was sitting at a table by the window. He looked up from his newspaper and met Zane's wandering gaze, before casually returning to his reading.

Lily led Zane deeper into the mass of intoxicated humanity, eventually emerging on the other side at the bar. The bartender had his back to them, slamming the side of a radio and crying out in frustration as static blared out. "Damn thing never works anymore, bloody city slickers don't give a stuff about our reception out here..." his hoarse voice was unbelievably raspy and dry. After a few more seconds he gave up thumping the radio and switched it off.

"Gobtholomew?" Lily asked politely.

The bartender swung round and Zane yelled out in shock, lost his balance, and fell over backwards. "Y-your face...how?"

The bartender glanced down at him briefly before returning to Lily.

"Brought a long a comedian aye Lily? How you been? Can I get you anything?"

Zane's arms were shaking as he sat on the floor, trying to get back to his feet, trying to say something, trying to comprehend what he was looking at. His body wouldn't move, and no words would come out, this Gobtholomew was something out of his darkest nightmares, and Lily just stood there idly chatting with him.

"Not today thank you, I was wondering if Mr. Moriarty was available, I'd just like a word with him".

"I'll go check for you dear" Gobtholomew wheezed, it pained Zane just to listen to its hoarseness. As Gobtholomew sidled into a back corridor to find Moriarty, Lily looked down scornfully at Zane, still visibly shaken by what he had just seen. "Welcome to Kanto Zane, welcome to post apocalyptic society, what you just saw is the result of those less fortunate then your ancestors, those that were still on the surface when the bombs dropped".

Zane's mouth hung open dumbly, he could still not muster the brain power to formulate a sentence, the image of Gobtholomew's face was burned into his consciousness.

"Ghouls" Lily added, "When the first vault dwellers discovered there were small pockets intelligent life on the surface this is how they labelled them, the name has stuck ever since. This is what the wasteland is Zane, if you don't take it seriously it will chew you up and spit you out".

Zane pulled himself up on his crutch slowly, sweat dripping down his brow, now all the questions were flooding in at once.

"How...why...forget about it" Zane ended up muttering as Gobtholomew re-entered the bar area with another man in tow. Despite the other man, presumably Moriarty, being of more importance to Lily, Zane again could not tear his eyes away from the monstrosity going about his bar duties. His entire face and skull seemed to be rotting; patches of sickly skin covered most of his features, as raw red muscle peeked through the gaps. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, there were only slits where his nose and ears should've been, and scars covered nearly every available space of skin that was still left. The few long strands of black hair that trickled down his skull appeared to be ready to fall out at any given moment as he coughed horribly into the dirty tea towel, then continued wiping mugs with it.

"...so this is Zane, a friend of the Professor's, he'll be doing the survival training until he's ready to leave Megaton".

Zane snapped back to catch the end of Lily introducing him to Moriarty.

"Colin Moriarty, owner of the saloon."

Moriarty offered his hand and Zane shook it. Moriarty's grip was like iron, his gaze, despite the friendly gesture, deathly cold.

"It's a pleasure Mr. Moriarty; you have a nice place here"

"Quit the sweet talk kid, can you work?"

"Uhh" Zane paused, "I've never served drinks before..."

"No not that! I mean manual labour, I need a utility guy, someone to run errands and perform odd jobs, you won't find better pay around these parts son".

Zane thought carefully, if he was serious about travelling the wasteland then the least he could do in preparation was to have money for supplies, and what was the worst job he could possibly perform in this town in the middle of nowhere? He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Lily, she seemed genuinely perplexed as to Moriarty's job proposition, if only he'd bothered to ask more about him before they went in...

"Well? Kids like you are a dime a dozen, you want the job or not?"

"...Yes, that would be great Mr. Moriarty"

"Excellent, when you're off the stick come over around 5pm and I'll see what I have for you to do".

"Off the st- oh right, yeah, it shouldn't be too much longer now...it was just...a...Tauros accident!"

Moriarty stared at him unfathomably before returning to the back rooms. Zane sighed in annoyance, he really didn't need to add the explanation on, Moriarty seemed like a man who wasn't interested in details to begin with.

Lily led Zane away from the bar and began to make her way through the crowd, seeking out another resident. "Why didn't you warn me about that thing?" Zane hissed, "How many of them are there?"

Lily ducked to avoid the swinging arms of a drunken customer and moved over to the wall to get a better look at the crowd. "Why should I warn you? The wasteland won't warn you when bandits decide to pick you off or when you unknowingly enter a wild Pokemon's territory, exploring the wastes isn't some romantic adventure, no matter how much my Grandad tries to sugar coat it, it's a job. The Professor will teach you the basics of survival, and he'll hand you all the knowledge he can, but that doesn't guarantee you won't die a hundred metres outta Megaton. My Dad-"

Lily paused mid-sentence and composed herself. "Don't treat the wasteland like a joke." Lily ducked back into the crowd, spotting her next target, leaving Zane momentarily staring into the space she'd previously been occupying.

"Well?" Lily called back; she'd been back in the crowd only a couple of seconds and someone had already managed to spill beer on her.

"Right, sorry."

Zane spent the next hour shuffling around the crowded saloon meeting anyone with any type of position in Megaton, mainly shopkeepers who, unfortunately for Zane, were a lot more inclined to discuss their life story than Moriarty had been. Lily never ended up needing to elaborate upon where Zane had come from beyond 'out of town', as they insisted on prattling on under the influence of alcohol until Lily decided to interject and move him along to the next person. Finally they came to a halt back near the bar as Lily counted off names on her fingers.

"...And one more makes...yeah, alright, just one left Zane, an ex-mercenary who works part time for Moriarty now, name's Jericho. I can't actually find him at the moment, if you see him let me know, he's in his forties now, shaved head...should have a big gun strapped to his back...probably being anti-social in a corner somewhe- got him!"

Lily dragged Zane across the room to where Jericho was indeed standing, in a corner, quietly sipping his beer.

"Hello Mr. Jericho sir, this is-"

"Shut your mouth girl, I've heard that introduction about twenty times already, I don't want to ever hear it again". Jericho glared at Lily before turning to Zane, "No offense kid".

"Uh, none taken?" Zane shook Jericho's hand as the man's attention returned to what he'd been looking at previously, the man in the white suit by the window.

"Who is that?" Lily asked in a low murmur.

"No idea, and Moriarty doesn't know either, that's why I'm here watching him, make sure he doesn't get up to any trouble".

The man by the window turned a page of his newspaper nonchalantly as Jericho finished his sentence, Zane noticed Jericho's hand wander towards his holster for just a fraction of a second before changing course and pulling out a dirty looking cigarette and a lighter.

"How long have you been watching him?" Lily queried.

"Too damn long", Jericho sighed and rubbed his eyes with his palm, "I don't know what this joker's deal is but he's wasted my whole bloody evening". Jericho quickly glanced sideways at Zane "don't let me turn you off working for Moriarty, I promise you the pay is good and I'm sure he'll have a lot more interesting jobs for a younger body like yours..."

Zane wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about this development... "If you don't mind me asking, why is Moriarty so interested in this stranger? Lily told me earlier that this was the only saloon in the entire South West, surely you get a lot of strange...strangers...through these parts?"

Jericho smirked, "right you are lad, and what's the difference between him, and everyone else in this fine establishment?"

Zane paused for a few seconds, "...his clothing?"

"Bingo. He's from out of town, way out of town judging by the fact that myself, Moriarty, and Gobtholomew all don't recognize him, yet he turns up on our doorstep with this fancy get-up in perfect condition, he doesn't even have dirt on his shoes, this guy is a somebody, or a henchman for a somebody, either way he's here for more than a window seat to read the Kanto Times".

"Does the Sheriff know about this guy? Maybe he should be asking some questions or something?"

Jericho snorted, "The Sheriff? You won't see him in here boy, him and Moriarty, they have this understanding. Simms doesn't poke his nose into Moriarty's business, for the sake of the economic development of the town, and Moriarty doesn't interfere with town politics for the stability of Simms' leadership".

"Oh I see, and does that work out okay?"

"Hell no!"

Jericho gulped down the last of his drink and placed the empty mug on a nearby barrel.

"If that idiot over there doesn't do something soon I'm going to-"

Jericho was suddenly bowled over by two large men falling backwards out of the crowd as they fell in a tangled mess onto the floor.

"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

A roar went up around the saloon as fists began to fly, bodies tumbling over in all directions.

"A little help?" Jericho groaned from underneath the stack of men, he was helpless, flat on his stomach at the bottom of the pile.

Zane bent down to lift him out but Lily slapped his hand away. "Apologize for telling me to shut my mouth, it was very rude".

Jericho banged his head against the floor wildly, "Just let me out of here!"

Lily was motionless, "You know, I'm pretty sure the blame for this mess is going to fall to the security if this gets any more out of hand, I know you've seen how Moriarty likes to deals out punishment..."

"Fine! Fine! I'm sorry! Now please get these logs off me!"

The two men who had knocked Jericho over were now both sound asleep and slowly crushing him.

Lily and Zane bent down and heaved the weight off Jericho, digging their shoulders in and finally rolling them over. Jericho sprung to his feet and pulled the long rifle off his back. "Screw...this...place" he panted before sprinting into the pack, swinging his gun by the barrel in a large arc, knocking down a large group of men in one go. Zane hung back bemused as the brawl raged on; there didn't appear to be any reasoning or motive behind any of it, everyone was just trying to hit whatever was closest to them.

"Is this a common event here?" Zane asked Lily casually.

"Ahhh...yeahhhh"

"That's just great; I might not even make it out to the wastelands"

"Oh don't be such a baby, with all the rent you're going to accumulate, then taking into account my personal interest rates for the clothing loan, you'll be working here for a long time before the Professor lets you- oh my gosh! The Professor! He's in there somewhere! Quick, go and find him Zane!"

"I don't think that's such a good idea you know? Everything's still a little sore and-"

Lily grabbed Zane by the neck of his shirt and roughly pulled him in close so their noses were pressing against each other. "You would have a poor, defenceless girl go into that mess? I don't think so buster, you get in there and save my Grandad or you'll be out on your ass with the rock Pokemon".

Zane gulped nervously, he wasn't sure if Lily would follow through with a threat like that, but he wasn't going to gamble and find out.

"I'll just go and...yeah..." Zane carefully stepped towards the outer edge of the brawl, not sure how to even break in. He felt like he was on the edge of a cliff, toying with certain pain if he proceeded any further. It was at this point that two different developments caught Zane's attention at the same time.

In the centre of the fight, a dazed Professor hung on to the back and neck of a hulking man, swinging around and around trying to shake him off. His legs dangled hopelessly in the air as, with every shake, his grip around the man's neck weakened.

Right behind him however a quick exchange distracted Zane from immediately coming to the Professor's aid. The suspicious character in the white suit was having whispered conversation by the entrance with another man. Their hands lowered, the white suit began to pull something out of his pocket, something round. Suddenly a group of men stumbled into view, blocking Zane's vision of the entrance. Without a moment's hesitation he dived into the pack and rushed past the men, trying to see what was happening at the other side of the room. The break in his line of sight had only lasted a couple of seconds, but by the time Zane had fought his way to an opening, neither man remained in the doorway.

What should I do? Run after them? What if they didn't go outside? Zane thought furiously, time was running out.

"Zaaane, help meeeeee!"

It was only then that Zane realised he was in the centre of the fight and standing only a couple of metres away from the Professor. Now was not the time to play detective, Zane decided.

The Professor's grip finally broke and he was sent flying off the big man's back, crumpling on the floor by Zane's feet.

"Help?"

The Professor smiled weakly up at Zane as the big man turned his attention to him.

"Good lad". The Professor mumbled some encouragement and passed out on the floor.

Zane sighed and stepped over him, putting himself between Professor Oak and his attacker. "Back off man, he's already out cold; I'm just here to bring him back to his family".

"That there science man grabbed my wife's butt!"

"Oh, well, I'm sure your mistaken sir-"

"He probably isn't!" Lily called out from the corner.

Zane cleared this throat, "Yes, well, regardless, I'm just going to-"

"Piss off cripple! I'm going break that sissy's neck!"

"Cripple?" Zane looked down and noticed he was still holding his walking stick. "Oh right yeah, are you really going to beat up a senior citizen and a cripple?"

"AAARRGH!" The beefy man lunged at Zane, his arms outstretched as if he was coming in for a hug. Zane quickly hopped back, gripped his walking stick hard in his right hand, and swung it up and over his head, crashing it down on the top of the man's skull as his dive fell short. The stick snapped in two as Zane was left holding nothing but the handle as the man stumbled to his feet again.

"You!" He came at Zane again; his arms out wide, making sure Zane couldn't get away. Zane took it as a welcome invitation, stepping forward, and punching him square in his unprotected face as hard as he could. The big man stumbled back a few steps, blood pouring out of his nose. Zane resisted every urge in his body to cry out in pain, his hand was on fire, but he had to stay strong, maybe the other guy would back off.

The man howled in rage and jumped at Zane again, fists raised this time. His movements were sluggish however, it was possibly the alcohol dulling his movements Zane thought as he sidestepped the man easily and landed a heavy punch to his sizeable gut.

"Atta boy!"

Zane turned around to see the Professor sitting cross legged behind him, cheering him on.

"Give him the ol one-two for me!"

Zane slowly swivelled back around to face his opponent. Was this really the leading expert on Pokemon? He'd grabbed a lady's butt and then pretended to pass out to avoid a fight. No wonder Lily was so bitter when she found out he was coming down here.

"THAT'S IT!"

The man struggled to his feet again, Zane tensed up, as slow as his opponent was, it would probably only take one punch from his fat fists to knock him out. Instead of charging forward however he retreated back, "BOYS!"

Zane's heart sank as four other men emerged out of the crowd by the man's side. "Beat that weasel to a pulp". In a flash he was knocked off his feet and pinned to the ground, all four had just cannoned into him rather than attempting to fight.

"Hold him there!" screeched the bloodied ring leader. He stumbled back over as Zane squirmed underneath the weight of the man's lackeys. "Keep still" he chuckled as he aligned his fist with Zane's face.

Zane shut his eyes, he didn't want to see that hairy mound of flesh race towards him, this could kill him.

BANG!

Zane's eyes snapped open; sounds and images of guns firing in the vault began creeping back in.

BANG!

Another shot sounded and the people on top of him bolted for the door, most were running in any direction they could, bumping into others as they made for the exit, some simply cowered on the floor, hoping not to get hit. Zane finally located the source of the gunfire, Moriarty was standing atop the bar counter, shotgun in hand, towering over his patrons.

"Eeeverybody out, the saloon is closed for the next hour, you can all come back when you've cooled off!"

After a few moments only a small group of them remained, Moriarty still on the counter, Gobtholomew cowering behind him, Jericho squatting on the floor spitting out blood, Professor Oak lying on the floor mumbling to himself, Lily in the corner looking relieved, and Zane, getting to his feet so he too could vacate the premises.

Moriarty hopped down onto the floor and strode over to Jericho, pulling him up by the scruff of his neck.

"What the hell are you doing? You have a gun so you decide to smack people with it? How thick are you?"

"Bullets cost money sir, I was just-"

"Bullets cost money huh? You know what else 'costs money', not doing your job you brainless dolt! Now I lose an hour's profit and I gotta repair the chairs, tables, and the roof!"

Moriarty was right up in Jericho's face; the veins on his head seemed to bulge out from under his short black hair, his sunken eyes showing no fear as he shouted down the ex-mercenary.

"And what about fancy-suit? I suppose he didn't do anything suspicious at all right? It was just a coincidence that a fight broke out in my establishment the same day he turns up?"

Lily snorted from over in the corner but quickly covered it up into a cough.

"I'm sorry boss; he really didn't do anything except read that bloody paper".

Moriarty seemed about ready to explode until Zane decided to interject.

"I saw something".

Moriarty slowly turned to face him, "really?"

"Yeah, I saw him during the fight, he was talking to another man by the door, he didn't seem disturbed at all by it...oh yeah! And then the white suit gave the man something round out of this pocket!"

"What was it? Who was this man?" Moriarty blurted excitedly.

"I couldn't see, sorry. There were too many people in the way, I think the man was an average height, average build, just plain regular clothing? Sorry, it was just so wild".

Zane braced himself for an explosion of anger from Moriarty, but it seemed he'd calmed down now.

"Well, that's better than nothing I suppose, something round aye? We'll see if he comes back again, might have to arrange a little trouble for him out on the streets, see if he's got anything interesting on him". Moriarty pondered for a moment before stalking off back behind the bar.

"Clean up this mess Gob, I'm going to go have a think".

"Yes boss"

"Jericho! Do the job I'm paying you for, if there's trouble you break it up, by any means necessary. If you can't do that then don't bother showing up".

"Yes boss"

"Zane!"

Zane was shocked to hear him call out his name. Moriarty had paused at the door to the back rooms.

"I don't know why you pretended you were on a walking stick and I don't much care, but I expect you in here at 5pm tomorrow, got that?"

"Yes boss" Zane smiled.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The sunlight filtered in through the dusty windows of the Oak laboratory, the warmth lightly touching Zane's face as he slept. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright in bed, looking around franticly.

There was no fire, not this time, he collapsed back down onto the mattress and wiped the sweat off his face tiredly. It had taken him a long time to fall asleep the previous night, every now and then he would hear a small movement from Lily's side of the room; she may have been awake the whole time as well. Zane could only assume he wasn't the only one who was a little nervous about potentially dying every time they drifted off.

Zane stared at the ceiling for a few moments, and then, like clockwork, the images started rushing into his mind's eye. It was almost like every waking second of peace that he had, any moment in time when he had nothing to think about; the vault would come flooding back. The yelling, the fire, the smoke, and Violet's face, panic stricken, afraid. Kyal had ended up a mere minnow, had Zane known the true evils lurking in the vault he would never have let Violet leave his sight.

Lily sat up in her bed across the room and blinked confusedly at him. Zane silently wondered if all women started the day with their face so scrunched up, he decided now wasn't a good time to pose that question to her, maybe later.

Lily brushed her light green hair out of her eyes as she tried to wake up, her dazed expression descending into that all too familiar scowl Zane found himself being on the receiving end of.

"It's rude to stare, go on and have breakfast in the main room, I'm going to change".

Zane rolled out of bed and slouched into the hallway. His stomach let out a loud growl and it dawned on him how long he'd been without food, again. Maybe the Professor had a cook-up every day for breakfast to feed his staff... Zane's mouth watered as he drifted back to Occasion Day breakfasts in the vault, where real preserved sausages and eggs were cooked up and portions were doubled to celebrate a big event.

At the ferocious will of his stomach, Zane burst out into the main room, only to be greeted by the Professor slouching over a small table, his head planted on its surface next to a small tin of beans.

"Whyyyyy?! Why?! Why didn't Liliana stop me going to that saloon?"

The Oak of yesterday had presented himself with a somewhat roguish charm to Zane, he'd worn a neat lab coat yet left his white-grey hair messy, he'd shown signs of aging, but his easy laughter had taken decades off the man that was slumped in front of him now. His face had a sickly white complexion, his eyes were bloodshot, and large bags hung underneath them, he looked like death.

"Good morning Professor" Zane chimed in through Oak's mumbling.

Oak drearily lifted his head off the table and waved weakly at him, "food is kept in the cabinets Zane, help yourself buddy".

Zane moved over to the cabinets and opened them up. The wooden shelves were packed from top to bottom with perfectly aligned cans of beans, the labels dirty, faded, and peeling, but the tins still intact.

"I was out on an expedition with Liliana a few months back and we found crates and crates of the stuff, it's pretty bland but I'll take it over hunting Pidgey every bloody morning".

"Pidgey? Is that another Pokemon?"

Oak pulled his Pokedex out, flipped it open, and placed it on the table. Zane quickly grabbed a tin of beans and a spoon off the bench and sat down next to him.

Oak pressed a button and croaked "Pidgey" into the speaker.

The screen flashed and whirred as files popped up and the small computer began to speak.

"Pidgey, a flying type Pokemon, found very commonly throughout Kanto. Relatively peaceful however surprisingly strong for its small build. Very popular as both a scout for wanderers, and as a clean food source".

Zane looked over the different pictures that had popped up; the small bird wouldn't have looked out of place in his animal books back in the vault. Its underside was covered in white feathers while its top side was a light brown. Despite its plump nature, the Pidgey indeed looked like it could cause quite a bit of trouble, it wasn't its sharp claws or beak, but the fierce shine in its eyes captured in the Pokedex images.

Two prompts flashed up on the screen querying further information, 'General- Continued' and 'Evolutionary Family', Oak raised an eyebrow at Zane.

"Yes please!" Zane asked eagerly.

Oak chuckled; the Pokedex continued the playback of Oak's recording.

"No bodily protection against melee or ranged weapons, shows additional weakness to the rock Pokemon of the South West and the electric Pokemon of the North East. Predominantly preys on the bug Pokemon. Recommendation to engage, beware of attacks towards the eyes, danger rating: low".

"What's this last prompt?" Zane asked, pointing to 'Evolutionary Family'.

Oak scratched his chin gingerly, "I...don't want to put too much information on you all at once, it may be a bit too much to handle"

"Please!"

Oak looked Zane over, "You show more enthusiasm for this world then anyone I've ever met you know that?"

"Er...thanks?"

Oak sighed and continued the Pokedex entry. "Pidgey's evolved form is Pidgeotto, while its offensive capabilities remain at an adequate state, it should be noted that its speed, agility, and durability all dramatically increase".

Zane stared blankly at the new Pokemon in front of him. This 'Pidgeotto', it was so similar to Pidgey, a little bigger, yet a little slimmer. A large reddish head crest, its tail feathers had different colours as well. Was this a different type of Pidgey?

Oak reached over and snapped the Pokedex shut. "Don't worry, I'll explain it all later, I'm trying not to overwhelm you here is all. Now eat your beans, I just need a little pick me up".

"Drinking already?" Zane scoffed. His first mouthful of beans was indeed bland; it made him feel like a machine, tastelessly replenishing his batteries for the day's work.

"Aha no, I need a little more than that to get me through the day". Oak stumbled over to a clear freezer unit and opened it up; Zane spied all manner of different coloured chemicals in the various beakers and tubes that filled the grated shelves.

Oak eventually pulled out a large syringe filled with electric blue liquid, flicking it a few times to check its consistency.

"Whoth thah?" Zane asked through a mouthful of beans.

"A little homebrew" Oak replied wryly. He swiftly jabbed the needle into his arm and grimaced in pain. Zane leapt out of his chair and rushed to catch the swaying professor.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, you can go sit back down, I just need it to wake up".

Zane carefully stepped back but left his arms hanging out in case Oak toppled over. Sweat ran down the professor's pale shaking face, but as the seconds passed his body stopped twitching and his eyes seemed to brighten. Oak lifted his head to meet Zane's shocked expression and flashed him the same enigmatic smile that he'd received when he first walked into the laboratory.

Oak brushed past him and began shuffling through paperwork on his desk as if nothing had happened, there was no falter in his movement, he was perfectly composed.

"Oiii Zane"

Lily stormed out of the corridor and glared angrily at him.

"How come you're just standing around huh? Eat your breakfast!"

Zane quickly sat back down by his beans as Oak chuckled to himself in his corner.

"What's so funny old man? You were supposed to update everyone's system with the new Pokemon information last night!"

"Yes ma'am"

Oak started typing away, consulting some notes and muttering to himself. Zane slowly chewed his beans; he still couldn't digest what had just happened. It was so casual, too casual, drug addicts were the lowest of the low in the vault, whether they were grieving mothers or injured workers, it always meant one thing, they were one step away from death.

The room was silent except for the rattling of Oak's keyboard has his fingers sped across its surface, and then as Zane was finishing his last spoonful of beans,

"Finished! You happy now Liliana?"

Oak stretched his arms in the air triumphantly and did a celebratory spin on his wheelie chair.

"Now if you'll excuse me I'll just quickly drop by the saloon before Zane's class and-"

"You're not going anywhere!"

Lily gripped the back of Oak's chair and spun him back around to face the computer again.

"The information failed to send, there's a connection error".

Oak scanned the screen and resubmitted the updated Pokedex information, but was again denied by the computer.

"You don't think..." Lily began hesitantly.

"I do think" Oak replied grimly, "I'm going to have to make a trip out to the tower".

"Is it very far?" Zane interjected.

"It is for me" Oak laughed, "probably a half day trip there and back on foot. Had to do it a few months ago, it was just a Tauros that broke through the fence and trampled on some cables, hopefully it's the same again".

Oak scratched his chin thoughtfully and turned around to face Lily.

"Mind doing me a favour dear? Go fetch Jericho, tell him I'll meet him by the main gates in 30 minutes. The pay will be 150% on whatever he would've earned today in the saloon and I'll cover one clip for that pistol of his, but that's it! He can be a cowboy in his own time; I just want a security guard."

"Do you want me to relay the last bit as well?"

Oak pondered that for a second. "Mmm maybe not".

Lily stood still for a moment, unsure if she should leave, Oak grabbed her hand.

"I'll be fine; I've done this trip many times before".

Oak stared into Lily's eyes, her sudden concern for her grandfather was all too apparent.

"I know" Lily replied softly, "just...be careful".

"I will"

Lily walked across the room slowly but Oak called out to her just as she got to the exit.

"I have another message to deliver actually, for Moriarty"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, tell him to make up for me stealing his employee, I offer him you and Zane for the entire day in exchange, well, bye!"

"Excuse me?" Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Yeah gotta pack my bags, sorry, can't stay and chat!" Oak disappeared into the back rooms in a flash leaving Lily seething by the door.

"When he's back home and safe I'm going to beat him to within an inch of his life" Lily muttered as she left, leaving Zane alone with his empty tin of beans in the main room. The clock in the corner ticked loudly.

"Is she gone yet?" Oak's face slowly appeared from behind the door frame as his eyes quickly darted around the room.

"Yep" Zane replied as he got up to throw the tin away.

"You're not angry are you? I know you were probably looking forward to getting through the survival class as quickly as possible, but I know I don't want to get on the wrong side of Moriarty".

"Nah its cool, I'm just as excited to do some work for that guy, I think it's going to be a very interesting job".

"Yeah I do too; it'll be good for Liliana to be with you on your first day as well, especially if you need directions around town. I'm actually hoping she may develop a slight tolerance or understanding for, uh, dirty dealings, playing it by the book doesn't get you too far out in the wasteland".

"Yeah that's true" Zane replied thoughtfully, Oak may have put more thought into this than he'd first realised.

"Well in the spare time we have I guess I can teach you about evolution, it's the least I can do for skipping out on you today".

"Please!" Zane exclaimed. He rocketed back into his seat and sat attentively as Oak paced in a circle, contemplating where to begin.

"Zane, how familiar are you with Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution?"

This certainly wasn't how Zane expected Oak to start, but he obliged anyway.

"Darwin was the first to publish the theory that animals evolve over long periods of time right? That humans came from monkeys and all that?"

"Not bad, not bad at all" Oak mused. "Do you have any idea what he used to prove his theory?"

Zane shook his head.

"Darwin was on a voyage around the world as the ship's geologist, part of that trip took him through the volcanic islands of the Galapagos. The Galapagos are made up of several islands on either side of the equator, meaning there are extreme differences in the nature of life from island to island due to the extreme weather and geological anomalies. This is where Darwin noticed that the species of mockingbirds and tortoises that differed in shape, colour, and behaviour from island to island weren't entirely separate at all, rather a transmutation over time due to their isolation in different habitats. Birds on islands with hard nuts to eat developed sharper beaks and claws, while those on islands with an easier food supply of bugs were faster and had better eye sight. The animals adapted to their surroundings and evolved from their original design".

"So are you saying that Pidgey and Pidgeotto were just the same Pokemon but are from different areas?"

Oak laughed, "No, but now that you have a basic understanding of the concept of evolution it will be easier for you to grasp the next part. This Pidgey-"

Oak clicked back to the Pidgey on the Pokedex and showed Zane the picture again.

"-evolves into Pidgeotto. Due to the severe volatility of the genetic makeup of Pokemon, because of the erratic nature of their Poketronic radiation, Pokemon evolve a lot faster to compensate for increases in their strength, speed, and even experience".

"I don't follow" Zane admitted sheepishly.

"I know it doesn't sound it, but it is quite simple. Take this one Pidgey, over its lifetime as it endures attacks, and fights for food and territory, it develops the primal need to become faster, stronger, and tougher. Rather than these physical changes occurring over thousands of years in its species, the Poketronic molecular structure accelerates its own personal evolutionary process. The Pidgey will get to a certain point where its current form can no longer provide the improvement it needs and then instantaneously evolve into a greater form, Pidgeotto".

Zane nodded slowly, the whole thing was preposterous, the notion of animals suddenly evolving on the spot, but then he had to keep telling himself, these aren't animals anymore, they're Pokemon.

"There isn't actually much more to it than that, we are learning about new things every day, for instance-"Oak leaned in close to Zane and looked back over his shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I have reports coming in from the far North East of Pokemon that evolve when exposed to certain irradiated geological material".

"What? You mean rocks?"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down, nothing is actually confirmed yet, but if something like this is actually possible then we could see the beginnings of research into experimenting and exploiting Pokemon genes to build our own Pokemon, this could be the biggest breakthrough since the Pokeball."

Oak stood back up and glanced towards the entrance. "I think Liliana is coming back, have a good day, and please try and get into much trouble as possible".

"Right, stay safe!"

Oak nodded and walked towards the door just as Lily re-entered the lab.

"It's all set up Grandpa, are you leaving already?"

"Yeah sorry sweetie, I have some things to pick up in town, I'll see you tonight maybe".

"Okay...Please be careful!" The cold sternness that usually occupied Lily's face was completely shattered now; worry and concern dominated her features as she hugged Oak tightly. Oak ruffled her hair and broke the embrace; he walked out the door without another word. Lily sighed and looked after him for a few seconds.

"So...what now?" Zane asked tentatively after a few seconds.

"Moriarty's". Lily turned on her heel to face Zane, her face was set back into its usual position, a cold, calm, penetrating glare. "Now!"

She spun back around and marched Zane out the door. It occurred to Zane that perhaps for the first time in her life Lily was without family around her, this day should be just as challenging for her as it is for me Zane thought, that's good, we'll get through whatever job we have to do together and we'll be better friends for it.

As they began their journey back down the hill into the thick of Megaton Zane pondered the mysteries of Pokemon, what unbelievable creatures would he encounter out in the wild? He pondered on Moriarty, his saloon, and the political rivalry with Lucas Simms. He pondered the whereabouts of Rose, was she even alive? How would anyone know? I guess...this is how life works now. The footsteps of Lily, then Zane, and then far behind them a plain looking man in a white lab coat, continued on down towards Moriarty's Saloon.

**A/N: Hey! I don't really want to make a habit of posting notes after every chapter, it screams amateur hour imo but what do I know? Just finished my first round of uni essays for the semester, and will have another round in little over a month, such is the student life. Hopefully I'll post as many chapters I can before then, but I apologize for the substantial delay, and any future delays of the kind. **

**I'll also try a new thing where I will update the word count of the current chapter in progress on my profile 'about me' of whatever it is called on FF. Obviously my chapters don't have a set word limit, but it should give you a rough idea of how far along I am, and how soon until the next chapter will be posted.**

**Thank you to all the people who reviewed or favourited or followed my story, support and feedback is most welcome. Have a great day!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Giovanni tapped his foot impatiently; the brat was 40 minutes late, he hated waiting more than anything in the world. He inspected his fingernails in the gloom of the dusty room, spotless, unlike anything else outside of the vaults. The rickety wooden chair he had seated himself in wasn't doing his back any favours either, he should have had a grunt bring along a cushion. Hell, he should have just sent a grunt and stayed at home, but then again, this probably required a more delicate touch.

The soft pat of footsteps on ground reached Giovanni's ears, he was finally here. He straightened up in his seat, clasped his hands together on the table, showing off a variety of sparkling rings, and relaxed his face into a deadpan stare, he was in control, he had the power.

The door on the other side of the room slowly swung open, the figure on the other side choosing to wait a few seconds before crossing the premises. He's a cautious one, Giovanni mused. Black boots, black cape, black gloves... "I didn't realise I was dealing with a superhero" Giovanni called out to him, he kept his voice monotone, I am in control, I will always be in control.

The young man looked over Giovanni with a similar, emotionless stare, he seemed to radiate confidence, his eyes positively screamed it, was this the same reckless brat that blew up his drug lab?

"Not a superhero, just a simple man, much like you" the young man stepped forward and offered his hand; Giovanni took it and gripped firmly, was that an insult? The newcomer sat down opposite him, leaned back in his chair, and swung his feet up onto the table, he went to say something else, but then it turned into a yawn and they both sat silently, watching the other.

"Well" Giovanni decided to take the initiative, "I was a little surprised when you accepted my invitation to meet, you know, considered you just cost me a small fortune. I thought maybe after you realised who you were dealing with you'd make a run for it North, or West, imagine my surprise when-"

"Yeah I won't be running anywhere, I didn't come here to beg for my life, offer my services, or repay your losses, so you can end your speech right there".

Giovanni pushed down the fury that threatened to engulf him; nobody cuts him off mid-monologue, nobody!

The impudent young man ran his hand through his spiky red hair, making it even messier, his expression still hadn't changed, the calm, cool, confident, no, arrogant, vibe he possessed enraged Giovanni, yet there was not so much of a tweak of a smile, this was pure presence.

"No, I came here to tell you, you don't know what you're dealing with. It would be in your best interest if you ceased communications with Doctor Toua, and abandoned your involvement in his project. That is all."

Giovanni froze, how did this punk know about that? "H-Hey, wait, did you attack my facility just to tell me this? Who are you!?"

The young man was already half way to the door but he stopped and turned back around to face Giovanni, "you're small fry Giovanni, I don't want to have to deal with small fry, stay away from Toua and you won't have to dirty those fingernails scraping your subordinates off the wall...well, for now anyway."

Giovanni was not a man accustomed to taking threats silently, but he struggled to come up with any sort of retort, this mystery man held all the cards...but if Toua found out that he'd let someone that knew about their arrangement walk away...

Giovanni unclipped a Pokeball from the back of his belt and charged out of the house after him, he must not be allowed to leave!

Giovanni pressed the release button on the Pokeball and threw it down the winding path over the head of the man to cut him off. There was an explosion of silver light as a Pokemon expanded out of the ball into its true form, a large rocky creature, standing on its two legs it was nearly twice the size of a human, it thumped its heavy tail on the ground repeatedly and let out an enthusiastic roar. The man stopped and observed the bulky Pokemon that now stood in front of him; Giovanni couldn't help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction for doing something, anything, to catch him off-guard.

"Kangaskhan...oh dear" The man murmured softly to himself, but Giovanni still heard him, yeah, that was more like it, no one messes with Giovanni and gets away with it!

"If you come back and kiss my feet I might let you live" Giovanni crowed amidst the bellowing of the Kangaskhan, "No promises though" he grinned evilly. He was in control; he was the master of his own fate.

The man turned his head slightly to face Giovanni, his features as calm as when he'd entered the shack, "oh dear...you're going to have to catch another one". That was the final straw for Giovanni, "PULVERISE HIM!" He screeched. The Kangaskhan swung its mighty arm down with all its might, but the man was quick, he somersaulted backwards and unclipped a Pokeball of his own, throwing it straight into Kangaskhan's face, stunning it momentarily. Another silver light expanded into the shape of a long, thin snake, curling its way around the body of the confused Kangaskhan the instant it took solid form.

Giovanni had never seen this Pokemon before, it was very long, silky smooth, and was a peaceful light blue with a white underbelly. Aside from some heavy looking balls attached to its tail, and the small horn above its eyes, it appeared to have no offensive weapon, Giovanni smirked, probably just a freak hybrid of Ekans or Arbok.

"Shake it off Kangaskhan and stomp it into paste, CRUSH ITS NECK!"

The Kangaskhan roared again and thrashed its arms, but the mystery Pokemon tightened its hold on its body, snaking itself around Kangaskhan's shoulders and binding it to the spot.

"Your Kangaskhan..."

Giovanni snapped out of the battle to see the young red-haired man turn to face him fully, a look of pity the first emotion to cross his features.

"You took its baby away"

Giovanni cackled wildly, "Motherly love, distractions like that can cost you your life out here boy, look into the eyes of my Kangaskhan, it's a cold-blooded killer, I control its fate! I control its destiny! I control-"

"It's damaged beyond repair"

The young man turned back to face the battle, "I have no reason to hold back... Dragonair, put it out of its misery."

Giovanni was trying to handle being cut off for a second time when the Dragonair made its move. Sliding around the torso of Kangaskhan, it relinquished its hold over the legs, instead wrapping itself around the shoulders and neck, the rest of its body snaking out 5 metres in front of Kangaskhan. It turned its head, eye-level with Kangaskhan's chest, and opened its mouth

"What are you...Fight it off Kangaskhan!"

Kangaskhan was slowly regaining feeling in its legs and began stumbling sideways, but its upper-half was still completely locked in place. Particles of light started forming in the Dragonair's mouth, the tiny balls of energy joining and enlarging as more and more were drawn into the swelling, glowing, sphere.

The Dragonair flicked its gaze back to its master, awaiting confirmation, Giovanni was too shocked to move, Kangaskhan had never been defeated before.

The young man nodded, "obliterate"

Instantly the Dragonair roared, the ball of light in its mouth turned into a beam, the thick, raw, power went straight through Kangaskhan, and continued on through the side of the rocky hill behind it. Giovanni couldn't look away, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen, the monstrous energy continued to flow through Kangaskhan, seconds passed, and the beam began to narrow, before disappearing entirely. The young man walked forward and picked up his Pokeball where it had landed, reaching up and touching the Dragonair's body, still entwined around Kangaskhan's neck.

"Good job" he whispered as the Dragonair's body was converted back into pure energy, finally releasing its stranglehold and withdrawing back into the Pokeball. The young man clipped the Pokeball back onto his belt and stepped past the Kangaskhan, dead standing up. A massive hole covering nearly its entire chest gushed with blood, the red rivers streaming down over its rough body, its eyes glassy and distant.

Giovanni took a few stuttering steps towards his prize Pokemon, still trying to comprehend what he'd just witnessed. The queen species of the South West, killed in a single move, this was...

"Unacceptable" muttered Giovanni; he made a mental note to fire his staff of Pokemon breeders the moment he returned to base. "Useless, absolutely useless". Giovanni walked up to the Kangaskhan, seething with rage, how dare it embarrass him, then have the nerve to escape punishment by dying! He couldn't hold it down anymore and screamed his frustrations, "USELESS USELESS USELESS!" Giovanni pounded his fists against what remained of the Kangaskhan and attempted to push it over, but gave up after a few seconds; it was just far too heavy. Giovanni looked down to pick up his own Pokeball and noticed that he'd gotten blood all over his suit, he was going to have to be discreet getting back into the base to work on an adequate lie of how this meeting went.

The young man swung his leg over his motorcycle but didn't kick the machine into life. He sat still for a moment considering the man he'd just met. He knew Giovanni wasn't much more than a minor league crime lord, but at the same time everyone in contact with Toua had to be confronted, if their communications continued then more drastic measures would be needed, he could not let Toua continue his work.

The young man angrily revved the motorcycle, it would be so much easier to just kill all accomplices but he had to give them a chance to change, they didn't deserve what Toua had in store for them. He took off without another thought, as competent as his Dragonair was, the wasteland held no guarantees once the sun went down.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Zane found himself in a position he'd really been hoping to avoid for awhile as Lily pushed him towards the counter to ask Gobtholomew to fetch Moriarty.

"Welcome back". Gobtholomew's gravelly voice still hurt Zane's ears, he spoke like a man on his death bed.

"Uh hi yeah, I'm here to see Moriarty".

"Hold on, I'll go have a look for him". Gobtholomew put down his dishrag and shuffled slowly to the back, Zane blinked a few times, trying to clear his mind of what he'd just been looking at.

"You have some serious problems you know that? You do realise that there are ghouls pretty much everywhere right?" Lily rejoined Zane by the bar, not attempting to disguise her mocking tone.

"You wanna cut me a bit of slack? It's just not natural".

"You racist"

"Oh please, like you weren't disgusted the first time-"

"Moriarty will be out in a few moments".

Zane jumped as Gobtholomew reappeared by the doorway, looking as disinterested in his surroundings as ever. Zane's skin crawled, he couldn't handle being near it, he started to shuffle away to a table but Lily gripped his wrist and moved him back closer to the counter.

"Excuse me Gob, do you mind telling Zane a little bit about yourself and your people, he was a little shy about asking."

Gobtholomew had a coughing fit as he attempted to speak, Zane glared irritably at Lily, hopefully Moriarty would rescue him from this torture.

"Well I enjoy country music, long walks on the beach, and spending every day being gawked at by stupid kids"

Zane needed a second to digest the hostile response and began to mutter an apology before Lily cut him off.

"Gob! We just wanted to know how-"

"Oh you wanted some ghoul stories? About how we turned into freaks and became slaves in our own country? The stories I could tell...the hellacious fire that rained down upon us, the skin melting off our faces, the bitter cold death of the nuclear winter, rebuilding shelters as the beasts attacked us relentlessly day and night, and then, the glorious heroes of the first vaults, thank the heavens they rose from the depths and saved us, we were all so grateful we jumped at the chance to serve drinks and mop floors."

Gob's eyes seemed to swell as his deteriorated sockets tried to hold them in place, his stare boring into Zane's mind. Clearly something Lily had said had struck a nerve with him.

"I...uh...we'll just go" Lily stuttered as she grabbed Zane by the shirt to pull him away, suddenly Gob's arm thrust forward over the counter and he pulled Zane closer in, their faces nearly touching.

"No need, no need" Gob whispered hoarsely, "You want to know about my people? There are three types, those that kept their minds but lost their freedom, we are on our knees cleaning up the mess you make, half-wages, half-rights, subservient to our merciful saviours". Gob drew breath and pressed his forehead against Zane's, he could feel his foul breath on his skin. "There are those that lost their minds, they roam the wastes feasting on the pure, you humans call them ferals and gun them down in their own land, I get to watch my family, my brothers, hunted for fun". Zane could feel Lily's hand shiver, whatever her plan was, she had clearly not anticipated this reaction. "And then finally" Gob turned his head to whisper into Zane's ear, "there are those that-"

The dull clump of approaching footsteps interrupted Gob, he paused for a second next to Zane's ear, an eerie smile lingering on what remained of his lips, before hastily moving back over the counter and resuming his bar duties. Zane remained frozen, his body bent over the counter where Gob had dragged him, Lily stood unmoving behind him as well, both of them in a state of shock by Gob's sudden aggression.

"Zane, Lily, this way please". Moriarty paced out of the corridor and gestured towards the front entrance; Zane unglued his feet from the floor and jogged after him to keep up with his quick strides. Moriarty led them out of the saloon and towards the Tauros grazing area, none of them saying anything. Moriarty brushed past the dozy Tauros and picked up a large wooden crate sitting on its own with a little difficulty, he then heaved it into Zane's unsuspecting chest, nearly toppling him over.

"Deliver this to Val and Peter Lamb; they're an elderly couple that live next to the Little Creatures general store on the main strip in town. Our policy is to open goods for inspection upon delivery, they sign the paperwork inside, you take the paperwork and go home, I'll pay you tomorrow when you give me that paperwork. No questions? Good, off you go."

Moriarty brushed past Zane and Lily and walked back inside the saloon, his features as cold and uncompromising as ever, their meeting over as soon as it began.

"Well..." Zane stared after him dumbstruck, the heavy crate still in his arms, "that wasn't what I was expecting."

"Me neither" Lily murmured, "something's up, package delivery to an elderly couple? This is something one of his legitimate employees should be doing, I thought he hired you for...dirtier practices."

"Maybe it's a test? If his jobs are so important he's probably checking I'm at least half-competent first."

"Possibly...These could be precautionary measures against a power play, the Professor suddenly recommending me out of the blue to accompany you might have raised alarm bells, he might think I'm reporting back on his activities to my Grandad, or even Simms."

Zane nodded slowly, that seemed like a good fit. Lily looked over at him and shrugged her shoulders, "easy money, we do this and you'll be on the real stuff tomorrow, let's go."

Zane and Lily began to make their way towards the main gate, visible above the nearby buildings. The colossal nature of the iron walls that bordered Megaton could be seen from any angle, everything had a constant grey backdrop to it. But the gate, as tall as the walls, was a rusty orange, identifying the front of the town from the back.

"So...how come the gates stretch so high up?"

Zane broke the silence between them, he was surprised Lily hadn't spoken up to Moriarty about not being paid on the day, but she had accepted her instructions as meekly as he had.

"Let's just say, not all of Megaton was originally here", Lily gave him a sly, testing look.

"You mean you transported buildings through those gates?"

"Bingo...well not me per se but-"

"Why didn't you transport the buildings here first and then just build a regular-"

"Because shut up that's why, we're here."

The main strip, as Moriarty had put it, looked like any other road Zane had seen in town, with the exception of the Little Creatures general store, the owners had found some neon lights at some point and dangled it round the entrance haphazardly to draw attention. The road trailed towards the main gates, Zane spotted a man sitting at a stall reading a book by the path up there, whatever he was doing it certainly wasn't guard duty.

"I think this is the place" Lily pointed towards a small house adjacent to Little Creatures with an old man reading a newspaper on the porch in a rocking chair. Zane shuffled across the road, the weight of the crate beginning to take its toll on his arms.

"Excuse me mister, are you Peter Lamb?" Zane called out from behind the crate.

The old man looked up from his paper lazily but when he caught sight of the crate he jumped up onto his feet.

"Hot ziggity zam! Bring that right up here will ya? HEY VAL, PACKAGE IS HERE!"

Zane made his way up the couple of steps onto the porch as the front door swung open, a tall elderly lady in a flowery dress and apron began ushering Zane inside, "Quickly dear! My poor flowers!"

Zane stumbled through the corridor and placed the crate on their dining table, Val hurriedly brushing trinkets off onto the floor.

"Oh thank you dear! I couldn't bear to see my precious darlings go another day without a jolt of energy, they look ever so tired."

Zane looked over to where she was motioning as he saw the first bit of greenery since he'd arrived on the surface, 3 pot plants sat on the window sill, each just a green shoot with a couple of leaves.

"Yeah they're a pain alright, it was easier back in the vault, there's just something in the air up here that stunts them", Peter had followed Zane inside with Lily behind him.

Val opened the crate to reveal a thick, marshy, green-brown content, it was just manure. She unclipped the paperwork from the back of the lid and hurriedly signed her name, thrusting it into Zane's hands.

"Are you sure you need a whole crate for those three plants Mrs Lamb? Lily enquired from the doorway. "This manure is not only laced with...something, it appears to be from a Snorlax! That's really rich in nutrients to begin with!"

"Oh yes, only the best for my little sweeties" Val waved off the suggestion and immediately began ushering them back out of the house. "Thanks for stopping bye! Keep safe!" Zane, Lily, and Peter found themselves back out on the front porch as the door slammed behind them. Peter chuckled and returned to his paper, "See you later kiddoes."

Zane and Lily stepped back down onto the road and began making their way back up the hill to the Oak laboratory, still a little perplexed as to the nature of the delivery. Zane inspected the papers as they walked, they seemed pretty normal to him, terms and conditions, rights of the seller, signatures and dates, until he noticed a second paper under the one Val had signed. He flipped the first page over and stopped in his tracks, Lily looked over at him curiously, "what is it?"

"Nothing" Zane replied casually, he continued walking, "although there are some things I'm not sure about on the second page, you mind looking them over for me?" Zane smiled calmly at Lily; hopefully she could remain as composed as he did. Lily took the forms and scanned the page, her eyes widening as she read the message addressed to them from Moriarty.

DO NOT REACT TO THIS MESSAGE. RETURN TO THE LAB AS NORMAL. WE ARE BEING MONITORED, YOU ARE BEING FOLLOWED. FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS AWAIT YOU UNDER LILY'S MATTRESS. YOU WILL NOT BE PAID OVERTIME.


End file.
